About us

Human decision-making, action and design are increasingly being supported, supplemented or replaced by machine decision-making. Machine decision-making often takes place through artificial intelligence (AI) systems, which have become significantly more powerful in recent years – particularly due to the immense increase in computing capacity and the ability to feed large amounts of data into computer systems. 

The triumph of machine decision-making marks a turning point for law and society. On the one hand, machine decision-making creates opportunities, for example in terms of efficiency, economic prosperity and better quality decision-making outcomes. On the other hand, machine decision-making can curtail freedoms, cause considerable damage and also lead to a loss of legitimacy. Against this backdrop, there is a wealth of legal literature on the legal consequences of machine decision-making. 

However, there is a gap in research on the significance of machine decision-making for the basic functions of law in modern societies and the role of jurisprudence. Although both aspects have been addressed from individual perspectives, they have not yet been systematically researched. For example, cross-jurisdictional concepts of responsibility and control are essential, which, in varying degrees and emphases, determine legal attribution systems and seek to realise postulates of justice. 

The research group's objectives are to identify the challenges and potential of machine decision-making for the functions of law in modern societies, to develop legal design options, and to reassess the role of jurisprudence in the context of machine decision-making. In doing so, the group focuses on selected issues from a wide range of legal fields (legal philosophy, legal linguistics, private law, corporate law, civil procedure law, labour and social law, criminal procedure law, criminology) that have faced new challenges as a result of machine decision-making. 

The research group analyses connecting research questions and uses context and comparison to highlight similarities and differences in the relevant regulatory structures in order to, among other things, create a basis for the efficient implementation of legal policy objectives. Through constant exchange and cooperation, the group identifies overarching problems and develops generally applicable solutions. This involves close cooperation across traditional disciplinary boundaries. The group brings together projects with a focus on legal doctrine and fundamental principles under a common goal of knowledge acquisition.