Save the Date: The Gavel and the Algorithm – Courts in a Data-Driven World
The DCU Law and Tech Research Cluster is pleased to announce a forthcoming two-day academic event titled “The Gavel and the Algorithm: Courts’ Role in a Data-Driven World” which will take place on 22 and 23 January 2026 at Dublin City University (Glasnevin Campus) as part of the DCU Ethics and Privacy Week.
The event will focus on how courts are responding to the growing use of data-driven technologies and artificial intelligence, and the implications this has for judicial reasoning, procedural fairness, and fundamental rights. It will bring together judges, academics, and legal experts to reflect on the challenges and opportunities that digital technologies pose for contemporary legal systems.
The programme will open on 22 January (16:00–18:30 Dublin time) with a high-level keynote conversation between Justice Iseult O’Malley of the Supreme Court of Ireland and Justice Gilmar Ferreira Mendes of the Supreme Court of Brazil, with opening remarks will be delivered by Flávio Helmold Macieira, Brazilian Ambassador to Ireland. The second day, 23 January (10:00–13:00 Dublin time), will feature academic roundtables exploring the role of courts in data-intensive and algorithmic contexts. This is an in-person event and registration is required.
Programme:
16.00-18.30 – 22 January 2026 – Venue: AG01, Albert College Building
Introductions
Dr Edoardo Celeste (DCU)
Institutional greetings
Prof Dáire Keogh, President of Dublin City University (DCU)
Prof Charlotte Holland, Dean of Global Relations, DCU
HE Flávio Helmold Macieira, Brazilian Ambassador to Ireland
Dr Tanya Ní Mhuirthile, Head of School of Law and Government, DCU
Keynote interventions
Justice Iseult O’Malley, Supreme Court of Ireland
Justice Gilmar Ferreira Mendes, Supreme Court of Brazil and IDP
Conclusions
Prof Ingo Sarlet, PUC-RS
23 January 2026 – Venue: C206 Moot Court Room, Henry Grattan Building
10.00-10.15 – Institutional greetings
Prof Derek Hand, Executive Dean of Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, DCU
10.15-11.30 – Roundtable 1 – From judicial to algorithmic power: a de-humanisation of courts?
Moderation: Prof Ilton Robl Filho
Speakers:
- Prof Paolo Passaglia, Università di Pisa
- Dr Lucia Teixeira Ferreira, IDP
- Dr Brian Barry, Trinity College Dublin (TCD)
- Leyse Potira Marostega Zibetti Robl, IDP
- Hannah Garland, DCU
11.30-11.45 – Coffee Break
11.45-13.00 – Roundtable 2 – Beyond the State: the privatisation of judicial power in the age of AI
Moderation: Dr Ellen Rushe, DCU
Speakers:
- Dr Tanya Lokot, DCU
- Prof Ricard Martínez Martínez, Valencia
- Prof Ademar Borges, IDP
- Prof Guilherme Pupe da Nóbrega, IDP
- Dr Monique Munarini, TCD
This event forms part of DCU Ethics and Privacy Week and is organised in collaboration with the Dublin European Law Institute (DELI), the European Master in Law, Data and Artificial Intelligence EMILDAI, the ADAPT Centre, the Instituto Brasileiro de Ensino, Desenvolvimento e Pesquisa, and the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul.
We invite colleagues and students to save the dates and join us for this timely discussion on courts, data, and the future of justice.