ECIJA receives TrustLaw's "Collaboration Award" for its pro bono work on artificial intelligence regulation in Latin America

The award, which celebrates exemplary partnerships between pro bono legal aid providers and civil society organisations, was granted to the collaborative project developed together with the international organisation Access Now, in which lawyers from seven prestigious law firms in Latin America participated. ECIJA's office in Costa Rica led the overall coordination of the regional team, which included, among others, teams from ECIJA Mexico and ECIJA Uruguay.

The initiative resulted in a regional report on the state of artificial intelligence (AI) regulation, which is being used by policymakers, academics, media and digital rights advocates across Latin America.

"We are deeply honoured by this recognition, which reflects the transformative power of collaborative work. This report not only provides a rigorous technical analysis, but also identifies gaps, regulatory patterns and priority areas for the development of public policies tailored to the needs of our region," said Mauricio París, managing partner of ECIJA Costa Rica.

Given the growing proliferation of regulatory initiatives inspired by European or US models, the report represents a key instrument to promote more coherent, informed and respectful of human rights regulatory frameworks, in tune with Latin American social, economic and technological realities.

"There was a need to generate a tool that would serve both as an index for regulatory initiatives and as a tool for expert analysis from a human rights perspective," said Franco Giandana, Policy Analyst at Access Now.

For 15 years, TrustLaw, the Thomson Reuters Foundation's global pro bono legal network, has been connecting these organisations with leading law firms to provide free legal support, research and resources.