Legislative Scrutiny, AI and Digital Lawmaking: SUSTAIN-AI-REG partners in the 2027 Certified Course
February - March 2027 - In person, hybrid or fully online course
The Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence SUSTAIN-AI-REG at Università LUMSA is a partner of the 2027 Certified Course on Legislative Scrutiny, AI and Digital Lawmaking. The course is organised by the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) and the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (IALS) of the University of London.
It runs online from 1 to 26 February 2027, with a hybrid closing part in Berlin on 2–3 March 2027. Registrations are now open, and SUSTAIN-AI-REG can provide a 30% partner discount code.
About the course
The course looks at the theory and practice of legislative scrutiny and at how technology and AI can support it. Its focus is the assessment of legislation both before and after enactment. It asks how parliaments and governments can use technology to improve feedback loops, implementation monitoring and citizen engagement.
The 2027 edition draws on recent parliamentary innovations, technological developments and expert case studies. The course is certified by the University of London.
WFD and IALS run the course with a network of partners working on lawmaking, parliamentary practice and technological innovation:
Accountability Lab
Africa Regional Convening on Parliament and Legislation (AFRIPAL)
Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA)
International Association of Legislation (IAL)
IFLAPARL – IFLA Section for Parliaments
INTER PARES – Parliaments in Partnership
International Parliament Engagement Network (IPEN)
Political Tech Summit
Popvox Foundation
UK Political Studies Association Specialist Group on Parliament (PSA Parl)
Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence SUSTAIN-AI-REG at Università LUMSA
For SUSTAIN-AI-REG, the partnership continues the collaboration with the IALS Sir William Dale Centre for Legislative Studies. On 18 September 2026 the Sir William Dale Centre hosted the London session of the first SUSTAIN-AI-REG Open Forum, on AI in the design and drafting of legislation. The course themes also connect with the Centre's work on AI across the regulatory life-cycle, from ex-ante impact assessment to ex-post evaluation.
Who should attend
The course is designed for:
Members of parliament and parliamentary staff
Legislative drafters and legal advisers
Policy analysts and civil servants
Technology officers in governments and parliaments
Tech initiatives interested in democratic governance
Political party representatives working on oversight, law and tech governance
Civil society organisations active in law and tech governance
Academics and researchers in public policy, governance and technology
Learning objectives
By the end of the course, participants will be able to:
Understand the legislative cycle and the central role of pre- and post-legislative scrutiny and legislative impact assessment.
Apply the theory and practice of post-legislative scrutiny (PLS), including how to run a PLS inquiry.
Assess how digital technology and AI affect legislative impact assessment and scrutiny.
Identify good practices for transparency and public engagement when AI and digital tools enter democratic lawmaking.
Explore and test existing and emerging tools for outcome harvesting, feedback loops and the impact assessment of legislation.
Programme
The programme is built around 14 themes, moving from the foundations of legislative scrutiny to AI and digital transformation in parliaments.
The legislative cycle and legislative scrutiny – from policy making to enactment and implementation, and the place of scrutiny at each stage.
Pre-legislative scrutiny, impact assessment and ex-ante evaluation – appraising legislative proposals and using technology for evidence-based lawmaking.
Implementation monitoring, evaluation and post-legislative scrutiny – tracking how laws work in practice, measuring the impact of committee work, and tech-supported review.
Comparative practice and case studies – experiences from different legislatures in pre- and post-legislative scrutiny and technology-based evaluation.
Citizen engagement, consultation and participatory lawmaking – consultation, digital participation, feedback mechanisms and stakeholder engagement.
Technology-enabled committee work and research – how technology is changing committee work, parliamentary research, procedures and oversight.
Cybersecurity in the legislative process – risks, vulnerabilities and resilience in parliamentary environments.
Legislation and technology in authoritarian contexts – uses of technology in lawmaking in democratic and authoritarian settings, and their governance implications.
Digital lawmaking: legislation as code and rules as code – machine-readable legislation and its consequences for drafting, implementation and compliance.
Agentic AI in parliament and lawmaking – current and emerging uses of agentic AI in scrutiny, lawmaking and parliamentary services.
Parliamentary AI assistants – building AI assistants and reviewing existing prototypes for drafting, post-legislative scrutiny, research and parliamentary operations.
Legacy systems and digital maturity – assessing the digital maturity of parliamentary services and why it matters for modernisation.
Data governance and legislative data infrastructure – data readiness, machine-readable data and the data foundations that digital lawmaking and AI require.
Institutional innovation and digital transformation – strategies for organisational change and technology adoption in lawmaking institutions.
Format and calendar
The course totals 25 teaching hours over 14 modules: 8 online modules in February and 6 hybrid modules in early March. Participants must attend all modules to obtain the University of London certificate.
Date | Modules | Time | Mode |
Mon 1 Feb 2027 | 1 module (2 h) | 9:00–11:00 UK time | Online |
Fri 5 Feb 2027 | 1 module (2 h) | 9:00–11:00 UK time | Online |
Mon 8 Feb 2027 | 1 module (2 h) | 9:00–11:00 UK time | Online |
Fri 12 Feb 2027 | 1 module (2 h) | 9:00–11:00 UK time | Online |
Mon 15 Feb 2027 | 1 module (2 h) | 9:00–11:00 UK time | Online |
Fri 19 Feb 2027 | 1 module (2 h) | 9:00–11:00 UK time | Online |
Mon 22 Feb 2027 | 1 module (2 h) | 9:00–11:00 UK time | Online |
Fri 26 Feb 2027 | 1 module (2 h) | 9:00–11:00 UK time | Online |
Tue 2 Mar 2027 | 3 modules (1.5 h each) | 9:00–16:00 Berlin time | Hybrid: online or in person in Berlin |
Wed 3 Mar 2027 | 3 modules (1.5 h each) | 9:00–16:00 Berlin time | Hybrid: online or in person in Berlin |
Online sessions run from 10:00 to 12:00 Central European Time. The Berlin days fall just before the Political Tech Summit 2027 (Berlin, 4–5 March 2027), so participants can attend both. The Summit requires a separate registration.
Teaching is in English. It combines expert presentations, case studies from different legislatures, interactive sessions, facilitated group discussions and a group assignment. Partner institutions, parliaments and practitioners contribute to several sessions. Participants receive the course manual and access to the WFD Learn platform with all course materials.
Participants who plan to use their own interpreters or AI-enabled interpretation should contact the organisers in advance at PLS@wfd.org.
Fees and partner discount
Registrants through a partner organisation, including SUSTAIN-AI-REG, pay 30% less than the standard fee.
Ticket | Online only | Hybrid (online + in person in Berlin) |
Standard | £730 | £1,095 |
Early bird and groups of 5+ (–20%) | £585 | £875 |
Partner organisations (–30%) | £510 | £765 |
All fees include VAT where applicable. To request the SUSTAIN-AI-REG partner code, write to sustainai@lumsa.it
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