The enforcement of the AI Act will require widespread capacity building within the European justice systems. This includes questions on how AI intersects with fundamental rights, what kinds of risks it poses - whether for the use of AI within judiciary or the society at large, and how can AI be leveraged to strengthen access to justice.

In this context, UNESCO, in collaboration with the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN), the French École Nationale de la Magistrature (ENM), and the Siracusa International Institute (SII), organised a three-day training programme on "Artificial Intelligence and the Rule of Law" from 8 to 10 July 2024, in Siracusa, Italy.

The training equipped judges, prosecutors and court staff, with knowledge about the use of AI in the judiciary and discussed the legal and human rights implications of AI in the justice system. 

The training was attended by 41 judicial operators from 11 European countries, including France, Romania, Germany, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Bulgaria, Netherlands, Greece, Croatia and Poland. The judges identified how the adoption of AI systems could be beneficial to their work, but also gained awareness of the risks associated with such adoption.

UNESCO’s Global Toolkit on AI and the Rule of Law provided the core content for the training. Along with expert lectures, the participants engaged in practical exercises, including on the implementation of Ethical Impact Assessments for AI tools in the judiciary, in line with UNESCO’s Recommendation on the Ethics of AI. 

The training facilitated knowledge exchange and networking, encouraging collaboration on AI integration across European judicial systems, with a lot of interest generated in replicating similar trainings at the national level.

UNESCO’s Global Toolkit on AI and the Rule of Law is developed as part of the European Commission funded project “Supporting Member States in Implementing UNESCO’s Recommendation on the Ethics of AI through Innovative Tools”.