More than fifty european judges, judicial schools, lawyers, and academics gather at UPF to reflect on AI use and consumer rights protection
The University Pompeu Fabra will host the 5th edition of the Transnational Training Event of the JuLIA (Justice, Fundamental Rights and Artificial Intelligence) research project on February 13 and 14, 2025, at the Ciutadella Campus. The event, titled “Artificial Intelligence, Judicial Dialogue, and Consumer Protection in Individual and Mass Litigation,” will be attended by 50 judges from 22 EU member states, as well as guests from the General Council of the Judiciary and professionals from the Government of Catalonia.
The conference, which will include lectures, round tables, and plenary sessions over two days, will open on February 13 at 9:00 AM in the auditorium of the Mercè Rodoreda building at the Ciutadella campus. It will begin with a welcome and presentation by the UPF research team of the JuLIA project, the event organizer, led by Mireia Artigot Golobardes, Ramón y Cajal researcher at the UPF Department of Law, which is the project’s coordinating center.
The congress will be attended by 50 judges from 22 EU member states, as well as guests from the General Council of the Judiciary and professionals from the Government of Catalonia.
These two days of work will serve to study the impact of AI on markets, digital transactional environments, and consumers, judicial dialogue between European courts and national courts, and consumer protection in individual and mass litigation.
Some specific topics to be addressed include the role of automated decision-making (ADM) in consumer decisions, contract design, and contract personalization with consumers, as well as the potential adoption of AI systems to organize, profile, and classify cases or assist judicial systems in responding to mass litigation.
Other key topics of the congress will be the role of ADM in the effectiveness of fundamental rights, or providing an analytical framework for judicial oversight and control in cases where empirical evidence suggests that algorithmic behavior could lead to discriminatory practices or even jeopardize the proper, smooth, and fair functioning of the market.
Helping judges and lawyers approach the impact of AI systems on fundamental eights
The JuLIA project, funded by the European Union’s Justice program and launched in February 2023, has a three-year duration and a budget of nearly one million euros. UPF, with a team of around ten researchers, is leading the project under the direction of Professor Mireia Artigot Golobardes. The consortium consists of eleven members from across Europe, including universities, foundations, institutions, and judicial schools.
The primary goal of JuLIA is to provide the necessary analytical tools for judges and lawyers to understand, with the help of information technology experts, the mechanisms involved in algorithmic behavior and assess their legal implications. This aims to preserve judicial independence and impartiality, prevent discriminatory practices, and ensure respect for fundamental rights.
To achieve this, the project is analyzing the use of AI in decision-making by courts, public administrations, and private entities such as companies or healthcare professionals, among others, and its impact on health rights and consumer protection.
The growing importance of automated decision-making in the judicial field
The 5th edition of the Transnational Training Event and the JuLIA project align with the current technological context, in which automated decision-making (ADM) plays an increasingly significant role in judicial procedures, both in relation to these processes and in adjudicating cases concerning the legality of ADM use in public or private decision-making.
This applies to both individual and collective disputes, as AI can be used in mass litigation and individual decision-making. Furthermore, it is crucial to ensure that the use of AI systems in judicial activities respects fundamental rights, particularly transparency, fair trial, non-discrimination, and data protection.