What are Jean Monnet Centers of Excellence?
A Jean Monnet Center of Excellence is a focal point of competence and knowledge on European Union subjects. It brings together high-level experts to create links between the various disciplines and resources in European studies and to form links with academic institutions in other countries.
The Centers play a key role in reaching out to students from faculties not normally dealing with European Union issues as well as to policymakers, civil servants, organized civil society, and the general public at large. Find out more about the Center here.
Jean Monnet Activities are designed to promote excellence in teaching and research in the field of European Union studies worldwide. The activities also foster the dialogue between the academic world and policy-makers, in particular with the aim of enhancing governance of EU policies. Find out more about the activities here.
What is the DIGOV Project?
Digital Governance (DIGOV) is the name of the Jean Monnet Center of Excellence that has been awarded by the European Commission to the Erasmus School of Law in Rotterdam in conjunction with the Law School of the University of Leeds (UK) and the Law School of Bar-Ilan University (Israel). Centers of Excellence are awarded to outstanding research groups that have a visible societal impact and do cutting-edge research on an international scale.
The Jean Monnet Center of Excellence on Digital Governance asks which rules and norms are needed to enable Big Data and Artificial Intelligence to fully support our individual and societal interests. To that aim, DIGOV organizes international conferences, a visiting scholar program, policy consultations, and builds up an open teaching platform.
Prof. Oren Perez
Prof. Oren Perez is the coordinator of the DIGOV program for Bar-Ilan University. Prof. Perez has been serving as the Dean of the Faculty of Law at Bar-Ilan University since 2017, and he also heads the Environmental Regulation and Policy Program. His main research fields are environmental regulation, transnational law, legal theory, e-democracy, and globalization.
Prof. Perez has an LLB (Magna Cum Laude) from Tel Aviv University, an LLM and PhD from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a BA in Philosophy from the University of London. He has won several prestigious research grants, including awards from the Israel Science Foundation, the Environment and Health Fund, the Chief Scientist of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Ministry of Justice.
His articles have been published in leading legal journals, including the Journal of Law and Society, Law and Society Review, Regulation & Governance, Modern Law Review, and Legal Theory. His recent articles deal with networks and law, corporate responsibility, legal incoherence, and digital democracy.
In recent years, Prof. Perez has advanced a number of projects in the Faculty of Law, including establishing the BIU LawData Lab, the BIU Innovation Lab for Law, Data-Science, and Digital Ethics; launching a new law and technology division with a range of specialized courses; and strengthening the faculty’s international ties (co-operation agreements were signed with the Faculty of Law at the University of Graz in Austria, the Jindal Global Law School in India, City University of Hong Kong, and the Faculties of Law at the University of Erasmus in Rotterdam and Leeds University in the UK – the last two creating DIGOV with Bar-Ilan University through Erasmus+).
In addition, Prof. Perez initiated a project to provide support to Arab students in the faculty, which has led to a significant increase in their numbers as part of the faculty’s commitment to pluralism and cultural diversity.
Prof. Oren Perez Shares his Thoughts about DIGOV
Bar-Ilan University’s Faculty of Law participated in developing the Jean Monnet Center of Excellence on Digital Governance for many reasons, all of which will benefit Bar-Ilan University, its faculties, lecturers, and students.
DIGOV provides us with an opportunity to collaborate with two prominent European partners – Erasmus University in Rotterdam and Leeds University in the UK. It is also a great way to strengthen the international standing and exposure of our Law faculty, allowing us to further develop our research in law and technology through the BIU LawData LAB, BIU’s Innovation Lab for Law, Data-Science, and Digital Ethics. The DIGOV team from BIU also includes Dr. Ittai Bar-Siman-Tov (who manages BIU LawData LAB) and Dr. Ayelet Sela.
The most exciting achievements we’ve had so far with the Jean Monnet Center on Digital Governance partnership have been our hugely successful conferences.
The first one, Roundabouts of Digital Governance, was held at Erasmus University in Rotterdam in January 2020, and the second one, Digital Governance in the Times of COVID-19 took place online in February 2021. Our most recent event, Ethical-AI: Perspectives on Law, Regulations, and Policy, was also held online at the end of March 2021.
March 2021 Conference
February 2021 Conference
