Marco Giacalone

Marco Giacalone is a Research Professor at the Private and Economic Law Department (PREC) of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), where he also serves as Co-Director of the Research Group on Digitalisation and Access to Justice (DIKE). He holds adjunct professorships at VUB (2018-2019) and has been a postdoctoral researcher at the Brussels Research Institute on Development, Governance, and Empowerment. His work focuses on the intersection of digital technologies and legal processes, particularly in Private International Law, ODR, and ADR.

**Education**: PhD in Law (Doctor Europaeus, 2016) from VUB and University of Naples Federico II, specializing in Dispute Resolution and emerging IT realities.

**Research Interests**: Digital transformation of legal systems, blockchain applications in justice, AI-driven conflict resolution, cross-border dispute mechanisms, and equitable algorithmic systems. His projects include EU-funded initiatives like CREA3 (Equitative Algorithms) and IDEA (Access to Justice tools).

**Grants & Projects**: Over 10 projects funded by the EU, including EU683 (Equitative Algorithms), EU681 (IDEA), and EU676 (Digitalising Small Claims). Active in consortiums like IPSU 2022 (Digital Ius Knowledge Empowerment) and OZR4193 (VUB-UNIPARTHENOPE PhD collaboration).

**Awards**: 2019 Best Paper Award and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship (2020). Extensive speaking engagements on topics like AI in judiciary, blockchain legal frameworks, and digital justice.

**Labs/Teams**: Leads the DIKE Research Group and collaborates with the Brussels Research Institute. Involved in developing tools like Prodigit (digital tax justice) and CREA’s cloud-based decision support systems.