L’approccio regolatorio europeo alla digitalizzazione della giustizia: tra promozione, co-regolazione e obblighi legislativi di passaggio al digitale

di Teresa Balduzzi

SOMMARIO: 1. Introduzione. – 2. Promozione della digitalizzazione interna: monitoraggio e coordinamento, supporto tecnico-finanziario e accesso alle informazioni. – 3. Il “cambio di passo”: verso obblighi giuridici di digitalizzazione. – 4. Tecnologie innovative: un approccio graduato, tra divieti legislativi e co-regolazione. – 5. Le coordinate fondamentali dell’approccio europeo, tra norme di competenza e basi giuridiche, principi della giurisdizione e nuove tecniche di regolazione.

This study undertakes an analysis of the European Union’s regulatory approach to the digitalisation of justice, emphasising the variety of policy tools employed and the rationale behind these choices. Focusing on self- and co-regulation, the research distinguishes between two facets of justice digitalisation. Firstly, it explores the processes associated with the ‘dematerialisation’ of legal procedures, encompassing the digitisation of judicial documents, the facilitation of hearings through video conferencing, and the electronic exchange of information among authorities and between authorities and involved parties. Secondly, the study delves into innovative technologies, notably artificial intelligence (AI), exploring applications ranging from automated transcription and translation of hearings to software designed for ‘predictive justice.’ In examining dematerialisation, the study notes the EU’s increasing reliance on binding regulatory measures to mandate the adoption of a digital environment and necessitating the use of electronic means for cross-border judicial cooperation. Conversely, in addressing cutting-edge technologies, complex risk-based regulatory frameworks were adopted, i.e. the AI Act.  Among the different legal regimes, co-regulatory forms stand out, aiming (albeit not always successfully) to strike the right balance between the protection of fundamental rights and the rule of law on one hand, and the need for efficiency and innovation, on the other, through an intensive dialogue between public institutions and private actors.