The Max Planck Foundation for International Peace and the Rule of Law, in collaboration with the Mauritanian Centre for Legal, Political, and Social Studies and Research (CMERJES), and with financial support from the German Federal Foreign Office, held a high-level workshop titled ‘Innovating the Rule of Law: Legal Certainty and Procedural Justice in the Age of AI’ in Nouakchott, Mauritania.
The event took place on 17 – 18 July 2025 and brought together leading legal scholars, senior judges, legal practitioners, policymakers and law researchers from Mauritania and the region. The workshop offered an in-depth examination of the opportunities and challenges posed by artificial intelligence (AI) in promoting the rule of law, legal certainty, and procedural justice. During the opening ceremony, formal remarks were delivered by Dr Mohamed Maatalla, Dean of the Faculty of Legal and Political Sciences, as well as Professor Mohamed Dah Abdelkader, President of CMERJES.
Experts from the Max Planck Foundation and CMERJES conducted a series of technical sessions addressing key dimensions of the rule of law in the era of generative artificial intelligence. The thematic presentations included a practical introduction to the rule of law in the age of GenAI, an assessment of the current state of legal certainty and procedural justice in Mauritania, and an exploration of the fundamental principles underlying procedural justice and its interaction with new technologies. A dedicated comparative segment examined international experiences and the evolving role of AI in safeguarding legal certainty and procedural fairness, drawing insights from practical case studies. Additional sessions provided an in-depth analysis of the achievements and challenges faced by Mauritanian courts, with a focus on the operational realities of procedural justice and legal certainty. Following the presentations, participants engaged in substantive plenary discussions, facilitating the exchange of viewpoints on the practical and normative implications for the Mauritanian legal system. The workshop concluded with a reflective dialogue highlighting the importance of the continuous knowledge exchange and expertise to support the development of legal frameworks and rule of law institutions in Mauritania and across the region.
This workshop is part of a series of activities to enhance the reach and accessibility of constitutional justice in Mauritania, which is generously funded by the German Federal Foreign Office.