PhD Course
Legal Data Analysis and Ethics
Course Description: In an increasingly data-driven legal landscape, this course equips you with both the technical skills and ethical awareness necessary for engaging with legal data analysis and artificial intelligence (AI). Through a mix of hands-on programming and conceptual analysis, you will explore computational law, data collection methods, machine learning and model evaluation. The course allows you to choose between a technical AI project, or an empirical investigation of a legal question, using AI methods. Weekly topics cover everything from basic programming in Python to assessing the ethical implications of AI systems in legal contexts. Whether you are technically inclined or not, you will come away with a deeper understanding of the intersection between artificial intelligence, law and ethics.
Course objectives
- Define the key concepts in AI, data science, and legal data analytics, and describe how they interrelate.
- Apply basic programming skills using Python and Google Colab to analyse legal datasets.
- Design and implement a data analytics project or investigate a legal question using empirical methods.
- Analyse the ethical implications of AI technologies and assess the impact of automation in legal decision-making.
- Evaluate machine learning models using appropriate metrics and justify model choices within legal contexts.
- Communicate findings through clear and structured presentations and reports, tailored to both technical and non-technical audiences.
Assessment methods: Assignment, presentation and paper.
Prior Requirements: No prior knowledge required.
When: From 2 February 2026 until 2 APRIL 2026.
Max External Participants: 10.
Course Coordinator: H.A.M. Westermann.
Registration deadline: Anytime before the start of the course. Please e-mail gijs.vandijck@maastrichtuniversity.nl with the title of the course in the subject to register and for more information.