Legal Tech: Claiming One's Rights With Software

Legal tech can serve as a means of obtaining low-threshold information about fundamental rights and claims against the state or companies as well as a means of enforcing these rights and claims. Open source software in particular has the potential to facilitate information and communication between the state and individuals, especially vulnerable persons, in legal matters at low cost.

Trend research findings

We took a look at the state of digitalisation in the justice system in Germany in 2023 under the title Legal Tech x Public Interest Tech. We identified the following possible application contexts, among others:

  • online services for legal advice, contract drafting or dispute resolution
  • document management systems,
  • searching, locating and securing digital evidence, e.g. with the help of video surveillance systems or software for detecting stalkerware
  • digitalisation of court proceedings through electronic mailboxes for official correspondence with courts, electronic files and video hearings
  • automated anonymisation of court decisions
  • identification of risks and implementation of automated control and management systems to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations

The general public and particularly vulnerable groups have not yet benefited broadly from legal tech applications for the following reasons:

  • There is a lack of uniform and open standards, e.g. for e-file systems.
  • Proprietary software, which dominates the market for legal technology applications, is usually expensive and opaque.
  • A lack of transparency and systematic distortions caused by the use of software are seen as a major problem for the fairness of decisions, particularly in court proceedings and in the penal system.
  • The use of software can lead to a loss of social and interpersonal aspects of legal processes, in particular the subjective and empathetic consideration of the individual case.
  • Data-driven technologies in particular are partly based on invasive and unprovoked monitoring and generally have high error rates.

You can find the full report (in German) here.

Legal tech projects

Advice and information on rights and entitlements

Documentation of legal violations

Enforcement of data protection rights

More about legal tech in our blog

Further resources

Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte

The non-profit organisation uses strategic legal means to strengthen democracy and civil society, limit surveillance and digital screening and enforce equal rights and social participation for all.

Open link

Legal Tech Verband Deutschland

The political interest group for the legal tech industry is committed to promoting digital business models and solutions for the legal market.

Open link