Joana Covelo de Abreu

Key Staff Member, University of Minho

Joana Covelo de Abreu

Her expertise on Digital Single Market and electronic communications will apport sensitivities on interoperability (administrative and judicial), essential to fundamental rights’ protection in the digital age.

Summary of relevant skills and experience

PhD in Public Law (UMinho, 2015), developed under a FCT fellowship. Professor (School of Law – UMinho, lecturing EU law, EU Procedural Law, Global Administrative Law and Electronic data transference and telecommunication services to 1st and 2nd Law cycles of study). Member of the Directive Commission (Master´s Degree in EU Law, UMinho). Member of the Executive Board and Coordinating Commission of the Scientific Council of JusGov (https://www.jusgov.uminho.pt/center/governing-structure/). Editor (“UNIO-EU Law Journal”, and UNIO’s blog “Thinking and Debating Europe”). Academic Coordinator (JM Module eUjust “EU Procedure and credits’ claims: approaching electronic solutions under e-Justice paradigm”). Appointed expert (EC – DG Justice and Consumers) on judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters’ modernization [revision of Regulations on taking of evidence (1206/2001) and service of documents (1393/2007) 2018]. Key Staff Member (Project “Smart Cities and law, e.Governance and rights: contributing to the definition and implementation of a Global Strategy for Smart Cities”, 2021-2023) FEDER, Portugal 2020. Key Staff Member and responsible person for the research component (JM Project INTEROP “EU Digital Single Market as a political calling: interoperability as the way forward”, 2017-2019). Member and rapporteur of “Group IV: European Audiovisual in the Global Market” (Debate of the Future of Europe – “Meetings with Citizens”), general topic: “Technological Revolution: Ethical Challenges and Values”, 2018, University of Coimbra. Member (UACES Research Network “Communicating Europe”, 2019-2022, https://www.uaces.org/networks/2019a.php). Editor and author, with Francisco Pereira Coutinho et. al, of the collective works “EU Encyclopaedia”, Petrony, 2017. Editor and author, with Liliana Reis, of the collective works “EU institutions, bodies and agencies”, Almedina, 2020.

Relevant publication to CitDig implementation

«The “Artificial Intelligence Act” Proposal on EU e-Justice domains through the lens of user-focused, user-friendly and effective judicial protection principles», in H. Antunes et al. (eds.), AI, Law and Beyond, Springer, 2022 forthcoming (where, departing from the high-risk classification of IA systems in justice administration, she categorised different IA systems to legally differentiate those of instrumental from those of decision nature so user-focused, user-friendly and effective judicial protection principles can be reached); ii) “EU e-Government’s general principles and Article 14 of the Portuguese Administrative Proceedings Code (CPA) analysis – revisiting digital literacy needs”, in Carla Amado Gomes et al. (eds.), Comentários ao Código do Procedimento Administrativo, I, 5.ª ed., 2020 (where, approaching traditional general principles of administrative proceedings, she equated the inclusion of new ones, derived from EU institutional sensitivities to digital impact on legal domains – such as interoperability and digital by default or transparency in a new light –, and their inclusion in CPA while sensitizing to digital literacy; iii) “The role of AI in the EU e-Justice paradigm – suiting effective judicial protection demands”, in Paulo Oliveira et al. (eds.), Progress in AI: 19th EPIA Conference, Springer, 2019 (where, departing from e-Justice paramount – also based on judicial interoperability –, she tests AI under the fundamental right to an effective judicial protection, to understand if a judicial integration portrays EU reality).

Relevant teaching experience to CitDig

“Implications of the GDPR on the taking of evidence and judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters under e-Justice paradigm”, Judicial Training – Service of documents & Taking of evidence abroad, promoted by CEJ (Centre of Portuguese Judges Training) and EJTN (European Judicial Training Network), Civil Law Project, [CI/2021/03], 2021.