PhD Candidate in Law — Responsible AI for the Swiss Judiciary
Doctoral position researching how AI decision-support tools can be responsibly integrated into Swiss courts, combining empirical field experiments with legal and institutional analysis.
Best for:Best for law graduates from German-speaking universities with a strong interest in AI's impact on law, field-experimental methods, and interdisciplinary empirical research.
Overview
ETH Zurich's Center for Law & Economics invites applications for a doctoral researcher within the SNSF-funded project 'Responsible AI for the Swiss Judiciary.' The project investigates how artificial intelligence can be responsibly integrated into the judiciary, working in close collaboration with Swiss courts. The doctoral candidate will empirically study the impact of AI-based decision-support systems on judicial practice by designing and conducting field experiments and evaluating their legal and institutional dimensions. The position is structured as a cumulative dissertation at the intersection of law, computer science, and empirical social science, supervised by Prof. Alexander Stremitzer. The successful applicant will work at ETH's offices in central Zurich, using German and English as working languages.
What you'll do
- Investigate judicial decision-making processes and legal argumentation when interacting with AI tools
- Contribute to designing experimental protocols and evaluation frameworks for AI-assisted judicial decision-making
- Plan and conduct field experiments in collaboration with Swiss courts
- Collaborate with the project's technical team to study interactions between AI systems and legal-domain users
- Evaluate the legal and institutional implications of AI-based decision-support systems
- Publish research findings in leading academic journals
- Present results at international conferences
- Complete a cumulative dissertation at the intersection of law, computer science, and empirical social science
Requirements
Degree required: Excellent Bachelor's and Master's degree in Law from a German-speaking university (Germany, Austria, or Switzerland)
Degree offered: PhD (cumulative dissertation)
Language: English (very good proficiency required); German and French are advantageous. Working languages are German and English.
Instruction: German and English
- Strong academic record in law (Bachelor and Master level)
- Law degree from a German-speaking university (Germany, Austria, or Switzerland)
- Demonstrated interest in the impact of AI on law and society
- Very good English proficiency
- Willingness to learn and apply quantitative and empirical research methods
- Interest in field experiments and experimental research designs
- Must hold an excellent Bachelor's and Master's degree in Law
- Degree must be from a German-speaking university (Germany, Austria, or Switzerland)
- No nationality restrictions mentioned beyond the degree-origin requirement
Funding & terms
How to apply
Submit an online application exclusively through the ETH Zurich online application portal. Applications by email or postal mail will not be considered. Required documents include a motivation letter detailing relevant experience and motivation for the project, a CV, and academic certificates and transcripts. For informal inquiries (not applications), contact Dr. Jakob Merane.
- Motivation letter (detailing relevant experience and motivation for the project)
- CV
- Academic certificates and transcripts
Contact
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