Workshop on human rights and neurotechnologies

 18 November 2025 Strasbourg, France

 

 Programme

Introduction

9:00 - 10:00

Moderators: 

  • Roberto Andorno, Associate Professor of biomedical law and bioethics, University of Zurich, Switzerland
  • Anne Forus, Chair of Steering Committee for Human Rights in the fields of Biomedicine and Health (CDBIO) neurotechnologies group

Panellists:

  • Luuk Ex, Senior researcher at the Rathenau Instituut
  • Anna Austin, Jurist Consult of the European Court of Human Rights

Privacy at risk – Neurotech applications accessing the brain and mental states

10:00 - 12:00

Moderator :

  • Mark Bale, member of the Steering Committee for Human Rights in the fields of Biomedicine and Health (CDBIO) neurotechnologies group
  • Damaris Carnal, Vice-Chair of the Steering Committee for Human Rights in the fields of Biomedicine and Health (CDBIO)

Panellists:

  • Martina  Malcheva, Senior  Legal  Expert  at  the  Constitutional  Court  of  theRepublic of Bulgaria
  • Marius Emberland, Professor  Public  and  international  law  at  BI  Norwegian Business School
  • Respondent: Armen Harutyunyan, former judge of the ECtHR

Self-determination, freedom of thought and integrity at risk – Neurotech applications altering the brain and mental states

12:00 - 13:00

Moderators:

  • Timo Istace,Postdoctoral researcher at the University of Antwerp, Belgium
  • Laura Palazzani, professor of philosophy of law, LUMSA University, Rome, Italy

Panellists:

  • Vassilis Tzevelekos, Member of the UN Human Rights Council Advisory Committee
  • Monika Hermanns, Former Justice German Federal Constitutional Court
  • Federico Montalvo, Professor at Universidad Pontificia Comillas de Madrid, Spain
  • Respondent: Paulo Sergio Pinto de Albuquerque, Professor (Catedrático) of the Católica School of Law, Lisbon, former ECtHR judge, Portugal

Lunch break (13:00 - 14:30)

Self-determination, freedom of thought and integrity at risk – Neurotech applications altering the brain and mental states

14:30 - 16:00

Moderators:

  • Timo Istace,Postdoctoral researcher at the University of Antwerp, Belgium
  • Laura Palazzani, professor of philosophy of law, LUMSA University, Rome, Italy

Panellists:

  • Vassilis Tzevelekos, Member of the UN Human Rights Council Advisory Committee
  • Monika Hermanns, Former Justice German Federal Constitutional Court
  • Federico Montalvo, Professor at Universidad Pontificia Comillas de Madrid, Spain
  • Respondent: Paulo Sergio Pinto de Albuquerque, Professor (Catedrático) of the Católica School of Law, Lisbon, former ECtHR judge, Portugal

Conclusion

16:30 - 18:00

Moderator:

  • Laurence Lwoff, Head of the CoE Health Division
  • Milena Costas, former member of the UN Human Rights Advisory Council

Panellists:

  • Tomáš Doležal, Chair of the Steering Committee for Human Rights in the fields of Biomedicine and Health (CDBIO)
  • Krista Oinonen, Chair of the Steering Committee for Human Rights (CDDH)
  • Alessandra Pierucci, Member of the Committee of Convention 108 (T-PD)

 Documents

Report of the rapporteurs Workshop on human rights and neurotechnologies 

Report Analysis of the existing European human rights framework concerning the human rights issues raised by neurotechnologies and their applications | Roberto Andorno

General Briefing of the Workshop on Human rights and neurotechnologies

 

United Nations

UNESCO

OSCE

 Context

This workshop will explore whether and how human rights law in its current form can serve as an effective legal framework to address the challenges arising from the increasing use and development of neurotechnologies.

 Recordings

Morning

Afternoon

 Speakers & Moderators

Speakers and moderators are being confirmed progressively, with updates shared on this webpage as they become available.

Indietro Alessandra Pierucci

Member of the Committee of Convention 108 (T-PD)
Alessandra Pierucci

Alessandra Pierucci is a lawyer and has been working for several years at the Italian Data Protection Authority, in particular on EU-related and international matters. 

She has been the Chair of the Council of Europe Consultative Committee of Convention 108 for three mandates of which she is still an active member.

She worked at the “Media and Information Society Division” of the Council of Europe where she dealt with data protection and freedom of expression in respect of new media and Information Society.

At European Union level, she contributes regularly to the activity of the European Data Protection Board, in particular by coordinating the work of subgroup on data protection in the financial sector. 

She participated in several projects on data protection and gave legal advice in the field. 

As part of her research activity, she has published several papers concerning fundamental rights and data protection issues on juridical journals and books. 

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