Helga Molbæk-Steensig

Helga Molbæk-Steensig is a Research Associate in the Department of Law at the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence, Italy. She is actively engaged in the ELOQUENCE project, focusing on the ethical and legal dimensions of generative AI. Her research spans human rights, public international law, empirical legal studies, and the impact of technology on justice systems. She has contributed to major reform debates at the European Court of Human Rights and has published widely on judicial independence, the margin of appreciation, and fair trial rights in the age of artificial intelligence.

Research Interests: Her work emphasizes empirical legal methods, quantitative research design, and mixed-methods analysis in international human rights law. She investigates how courts like the ECtHR navigate legitimacy under political pressure, how AI affects fair trial rights, and how pandemics challenge fundamental rights protections. Her scholarship critically engages with methodological issues in legal research, particularly case-law sampling and doctrinal interpretation.

The recent publications highlight a strong trajectory in AI and law, human rights in crisis contexts, and institutional legitimacy. Themes include algorithmic accountability in healthcare, judicial deference, dynamic interpretation, and the politicization of enlargement in the Western Balkans. Her editorial work supports early-career researchers in navigating academic publishing ethics and challenges.

Scientific Contributions:

• Co-authored entries in the Companion to The European Convention on Human Rights (Brill, 2023)
• Contributed to Human Rights and Artificial Intelligence (Oxford University Press, 2023)
• Published in European Journal of International Law, Leiden Journal of International Law, European Health Law Journal, and Utrecht Journal of International and European Law
• Regular contributor to leading blogs such as EJIL:Talk!, Strasbourg Observers, and Verfassungsblog

Teaching and Academic Engagement: She has taught courses on legal philosophy, fundamental rights, and populism at the University of Copenhagen and delivered guest lectures at the University of Messina and Leipzig University. Her international outreach includes summer schools on human rights and transitional justice in Sarajevo and Leipzig. She mentors early-career scholars and advocates for methodological rigor and ethical publishing practices.

Labs and Research Groups: She is affiliated with the ELOQUENCE project at EUI, which investigates generative AI’s legal and ethical implications. She also contributes to the Human and Fundamental Rights Working Group and the Expert Knowledge and Authority in Transformative Times initiative, reflecting her interdisciplinary approach to law, technology, and democracy.