As part of its continued engagement with emerging legal and technological developments, the European Law Institute (ELI) was represented by its President, Teresa Rodríguez de las Heras Ballell, at the inaugural full-day in-person meeting of the European Commission's Expert Group on AI Contracting.

The meeting brought together leading experts from across Europe to discuss the rapidly evolving field of AI-enabled and automated contracting. Discussions covered both technical and legal dimensions of AI contracting, including design requirements, contractual terms and conditions, and the challenges posed by increasingly sophisticated AI systems.

President Rodríguez de las Heras Ballell participated in the discussions in her capacity as ELI President and highlighted the Institute's ongoing work in this area. In particular, ELI, together with UNCITRAL, is currently developing Model Contractual Terms on Automated Contracting, an initiative that is expected to provide important foundations for the Expert Group's future work.

Led by representatives of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers (DG JUST), the Expert Group's work will continue over the coming months as it explores the legal and practical implications of AI contracting and contributes to the development of future policy solutions in this rapidly developing field.

ELI welcomes the opportunity to contribute to these discussions and looks forward to supporting the advancement of coherent and practical legal frameworks for AI contracting through its ongoing collaboration with European and international partners.