Empirical Legal Research: a state of knowledge across Europe International Conference at the University of Toulouse (9+10 June 2023)

Toulouse University will soon host a two day conference on empirical legal studies with a particular focus on environmental law. It will bring together scholars from across Europe, including ELS pioneers such as Arthur Dyevre and Mathias Siems. Of twenty speakers overall, two currently work in German academia: Moritz Reese (presenting on "Lessons learned from an implementation study about the water directive") and Konstantin Chatziathanasiou (presenting on "Empirical constitutional law scholarship across Europe"). Here's from the conference website: Empirical legal research is defined as the systematic collection and...

The Forbidden Tree of Knowledge France restricts predictive analytics for judicial decisions

The problem with new methods and sources of knowledge is that these can bring forth facts that do not always please all those involved. But to prohibit the pursuit for knowledge and insight is rather absurd in a transparent state at the latest after the Age of Enlightenment. In France this seems to be seen differently. In fact, France has recently adopted a law reforming the judicial system. Article 33 of the law has caused an international controversy. It reads literally: "Les données d'identité des magistrats et des membres du greffe ne peuvent faire l'objet d'une réutilisation ayant pour objet ou pour effet d'évaluer, d'analyser, de comparer ou de...