First "Law As Code" Hackathon - ReMeP
VIENNA - On 19 and 20 February 2025, the 1st “Law As Code” Hackathon took place, an event aimed at modernising European legal processes and optimising public administration through digital transformation. In cooperation with the International Legal Informatics Symposium (IRI§), the hackathon offered a platform for lawyers, IT professionals, students, representatives of public authorities and private interested parties to jointly develop innovative solutions for current challenges in the legal field.
Hackathon “Law As Code”: Execution
The hackathon began with a kick-off event on 18 November 2024 during the ReMeP 2024 conference, where the topics were presented. Until 6 December 2024, interested parties could submit practical problems from justice and public administration to be addressed by digital solutions. Once the topics had been selected, the participating teams had until 20 January 2025 to carry out their research and development work. The actual hackathon finally took place on 19 and 20 February 2025, with the teams presenting their prototypes. Here you can find the presentations of the individual hacker teams.
The hackathon: Innovative projects and interdisciplinary teams
The event attracted a diverse group of participants, including lawyers, computer scientists and students. They worked in interdisciplinary teams on various projects focused on the digitalisation and automation of legal processes:
Team Austria worked on the use of data from the Austrian Legal Information System (RIS) to make legal information more efficient and accessible and to optimise its processing.
Team Netherlands developed an AI-based chatbot for legal questions. Using a decision tree to identify relevant legal documents, the chatbot can provide more accurate answers with better references than traditional systems. This technology could revolutionise the creation of legal reports.
Team PentaLex Nova (Germany) presented a chatbot for the banking sector that aims to significantly reduce costs and time spent on legal issues. The solution offers benefits such as greater accuracy, better data protection, more efficient processes and faster responses to customer enquiries.
Team RAG-DOLL (Germany) presented an AI-powered risk analysis tool designed to build a secure bridge between the legal and technological worlds. Using taxonomy maps and questionnaires that are compliant with the AI Act, both public and private actors can systematically assess risks.
The 1st “Law As Code” Hackathon in Vienna was a significant step towards the digitalisation of the legal system. The interdisciplinary collaboration showed how technological innovations can contribute to making legal processes more efficient and accessible. The positive feedback from the participants and the quality of the projects presented underline the potential of such events to provide sustainable impetus for the modernisation of the legal sector.
The next hackathon - a look into the future
Due to the great success of the first hackathon, the 2nd “Law As Code” hackathon is already being prepared. Interested parties are invited to submit topic suggestions, nominate teams or participate as a mentor, jury member or sponsor.
The digitalisation of the legal system is an ongoing process that requires commitment and collaboration. The “Law As Code” Hackathon offers the ideal platform to jointly develop innovative solutions and actively shape the future of law.
