Summer School 2026

The international and interdisciplinary 2026 Summer School on IT Law and Legal Informatics took place from 27 July to 5 August 2026 at Saarland University. Over the course of ten days, participants from 14 countries discussed current developments in the thematic areas of Artificial Intelligence & Law, Data, Privacy & IT Security, and Legal Tech.

The program combined lectures by renowned experts alongside presentations of participants’ own research. Topics covered included the EU AI Act, agentic and generative AI, AI liability and certification, data protection, IT security and IT forensics, legal tech, blockchain, deepfakes and neuro-symbolic approaches to legal reasoning.

As part of the Summer School, the Institute, in collaboration with the EDV-Gerichtstag, also organized the independent hybrid international conference ‘Legal Work with AI’. Participants from more than 30 countries worldwide had registered for the workshop. The presentations examined the use of AI in legal education, the judiciary and legal practice, as well as its technical possibilities and legal limitations.

Campus and city tours, as well as excursions to the Velsen mine, the Saarschleife, Völklinger Hütte and Strasbourg, complemented the academic program. We would like to thank the lecturers, the participants who presented their research, all other participants, and the EDV-Gerichtstag for the enriching exchange and the wonderful time we spent together.