| Summary: | <p>The thesis analyses the evolving role of the judge in digitally assisted adjudication. It proposes two novel roles and one adapted role for the human judge, named co-designer, integrator, and overseer or quality controller respectively. To conceive of these roles the thesis builds on insights from computer and data sciences, philosophy of information and of design, sociotechnical theory, jurisprudence, and law. </p>
<p>From sociotechnical theory it borrowed and adapted the concept of cognitive assemblage, bridging the classical object-subject divide. A cognitive assemblage is defined as an assembly of digital infrastructures, legal technologies and human beings, and their practices to make meaning of legal information in adjudication. It is argued that the human judge has lost the monopoly over judicial decision-making to now adjudicate in a cognitive assemblage together with other humans and legal
technologies. </p>
<p>Furthermore, the thesis introduces a concept derived from the cognitive assemblage: the programmatic level of law-making, operating in addition to the general level of statute and precedent and the specific level of the court case. It acknowledges the extra abstraction and layer of treatment digital technologies add to other technologies and to reality. It also assists with conceptualising legal implications. </p>
<p>The thesis then explores some possible enhancements and challenges for the rule of law of the cognitive assemblage of human judges and legal technology and of the programmatic level of law-making for adjudication. </p>
<p>Finally, the three evolving roles of the human judge are conceived with the concepts of the cognitive assemblage, of the programmatic level of law-making, and with essential aspects of the rule of law that must be maintained. It is argued that the judge should participate as a co-designer in the design of legal technologies that are used to decide on specific court cases; must integrate the output of legal technologies in the individual legal case whilst respecting the narrative of the parties; and oversee or control the quality of digital technologies. The thesis thus aims at contributing to a theory of judicial decision-making transformed by digital technologies. </p>
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