When AI Betrays Law and Justice: Skopje Conference Brings Legal and AI Experts Together

By Suad Seferi · Sep 4, 2026

Skopje will host an international scientific conference on 16 September bringing together legal scholars, researchers, digital policy experts and technology practitioners to examine how artificial intelligence is affecting law, human rights, constitutionalism and democratic accountability. The conference, “When AI Betrays Law and Justice: Human Rights, Constitutionalism and Democratic Accountability in the Algorithmic Age,” will take place at Hotel Panoramika and is organised by the Faculty of Law “Iustinianus Primus” at Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje. It is being held within the research project “Alignment of the Macedonian Legal System with the European Union Artificial Intelligence Legislation,” funded by North Macedonia’s Ministry of Education and Science. The event brings together an international group of speakers alongside academics and researchers from North Macedonia, with the programme moving from broader questions of democracy and justice to new empirical findings on how AI is understood and used in the country. AI, democracy and the rule of law Among the international speakers is Paul Nemitz, former Principal Adviser for Strategies for Digital Transition at the European Commission and Visiting Professor of Law at the College of Europe. Nemitz will address the relationship between Big Tech, artificial intelligence, democracy and the rule of law. Judit Varga, Founding Patron of the Central European Academy at the University of Miskolc, will examine algorithmic decision-making and its implications for constitutional government. The international programme also includes Laura Kask, CEO of Estonian digitalisation consultancy Proud Engineers, whose contribution will focus on trust in digital societies and the challenges of designing institutions that remain accountable as digital systems become more influential. Max Hubner, Founder and CEO of The Change Lawyer in the Netherlands, will focus on the relationship between artificial intelligence, people and justice. Their contributions will be joined by perspectives from academics at the Faculty of Law “Iustinianus Primus”. Professor Aleksandar Spasov will examine how AI affects fundamental concepts in law, while Professor Boban Misoski will address procedural justice in criminal trials and the possible role of artificial intelligence in judicial processes. Professor Lazar Jovevski will focus on AI, labour markets and the wider consequences of technological change for people and work. Together, these discussions place AI within a legal and institutional context rather than treating it only as a technological development. The central issue is increasingly one of responsibility. As AI-supported systems enter public administration, employment, business and legal processes, institutions need to determine where automated decision-making is appropriate, how those decisions can be challenged and who remains accountable when something goes wrong. New empirical research on AI in North Macedonia A central part of the conference will be dedicated specifically to AI in North Macedonia, with the presentation of new empirical findings examining public perceptions, corporate practices and institutional readiness. The research team is coordinated by Professor Tanja Karakamisheva-Jovanovska from the Faculty of Law “Iustinianus Primus”. The team also includes Professor Hristina Runcheva Tasev, Professor Dragan Gocevski, Assistant Professor Konstantin Bitrakov and Assistant Katerina Zhateva, all from the Faculty of Law. The research section will also include expert contributions from Professor Vladimir Bozhinovski and Suad Seferi, President and Founder of AI NOW Society. The study is particularly relevant because much of the discussion around AI in North Macedonia and the wider Western Balkans has so far focused on strategies, regulation, digital transformation and adoption. Empirical research can provide a different picture. It can show how people actually perceive AI, how companies are approaching its use and whether institutions have the structures, knowledge and capacity required to manage it responsibly. That becomes increasingly important as North Macedonia works toward closer alignment with European Union legislation while AI systems are already entering workplaces, universities, companies and public institutions. From North Macedonia to the Western Balkans The regional dimension of the discussion will also be addressed through “Beyond Adoption: AI Readiness in the Western Balkans,” presented by Suad Seferi. The contribution will look beyond the number of organisations using AI and toward a wider question: whether institutions across the Western Balkans are genuinely prepared to manage the technology. AI adoption and AI readiness are not necessarily the same thing. An organisation may already use generative AI tools while lacking internal policies governing their use. A company may introduce automation without clearly assigning responsibility for its outputs. Public institutions may experiment with AI before developing procedures for transparency, human oversight or risk assessment. Readiness therefore involves more than access to technology. It includes institutional capacity, governance, skills, legal understanding, infrastructure and the ability to manage risk. For Western Balkan countries, these issues are closely connected with European integration and the gradual alignment of domestic frameworks with EU digital and AI regulation. A broader legal debate around AI The conference is being led by academics from the Faculty of Law “Iustinianus Primus”, with Tanja Karakamisheva-Jovanovska serving as project coordinator. Opening remarks will also include Sasho Georgievski, Dean of the Faculty of Law. The wider group involved in the event reflects the different areas now being affected by AI: constitutional law, criminal justice, labour, public administration, digitalisation, institutional governance and technology policy. That multidi…