Dr Adam Harkens
Lecturer
Law
Personal statement
Adam is currently Lecturer in Public Law at the University of Strathclyde. He teaches at both UG and PG levels on topics including constitutional law, administrative law, digital regulation, and public law dimensions of algorithmic decision-making. He is also a founding member and PhD Supervisor in the Strathclyde Centre for Doctoral Training (SCDT) in Human Rights-Based Decision-Making.
From 2019-2022 Adam worked as a Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham, on the international and interdisciplinary FATAL4JUSTICE? Programme. He was responsible for developing and delivering research pertaining to social and legal issues in the use of algorithmic decision-making (ADM) tools in criminal justice. During his time at Birmingham, Adam also served as a founding member of the LEADS Lab (Legal, Ethical and Accountable Digital Society).
Prior to his role at Birmingham, Adam worked as a Research Assistant for King's College London and the Public Law Project, investigating the use of ADM tools by public authorities in England and Wales. He also holds a PhD in Law from Queen's University Belfast, funded by the Leverhulme Interdisciplinary Network on Cybersecurity and Society (LINCS).
Publications
- Generative AI and Courts in the UK : a Candle in a Hurricane
- Harkens Adam, Morison John
- Cambridge Handbook on Courts and AI (2025) (2025)
- Article 49: Registration
- Harkens Adam
- The EU Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act A Commentary (2024) (2024)
- Article 71: EU Database for High-Risk AI Systems Listed in Annex III
- Harkens Adam
- The EU Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act A Commentary (2024) (2024)
- How algorithmic policing challenges fundamental rights protection in the EU : lessons from the United Kingdom
- Harkens Adam
- The Challenges of Artificial Intelligence for Law in Europe (2024) (2024)
- How do "technical" design choices made when building algorithmic decision-making tools for criminal justice authorities create constitutional dangers? : (Part I)
- Yeung Karen, Harkens Adam
- Public Law Vol 2023, pp. 265-286 (2023)
- How do "technical" design-choices made when building algorithmic decision-making tools for criminal justice authorities create constitutional dangers? : (Part II)
- Yeung Karen, Harkens Adam
- Public Law Vol 2023, pp. 448-472 (2023)
Teaching
Adam currently teaches the following modules at Strathclyde:
Semester 1
- Administrative Law (Level 2)
- Regulating Technology (PGT)
Semester 2 (Ongoing)
- Constitutional Law (Level 1)
- Constitutional Law (Hons.)
- Law, Power and Accountability in the Algorithmic Society (PGT)
Research Interests
Adam's research is primarily motivated by a desire to critically analyse and understand the ways in which the exercise of public power - conferred upon public authorities in pursuit of defined legal duties and obligations - is transformed and/or displaced through the design and deployment of digital decision-making tools and platforms. Led by a concern for preventing potential abuse(s) of power in this context, his research engages with concepts including constitutionalism, surveillance, privacy and data protection, human rights, and legal and political theory.
Adam has published his research in a range of academic journals, including Legal Studies and Public Law. He has provided expert advice on the use of ADM tools in the public sector, to public bodies and other organisations including the Office for AI, the Public Law Project, and the Raad Van State in the Netherlands.
Professional Activities
- Regulating the Digital Welfare State: Could a Human Rights-Based Approach Prevent Harm in Algorithmic Decisions?
- Speaker
- 5/3/2025
- Regulating Predictive Policing in Europe
- Participant
- 12/2/2025
- Strategic Themes: Applied AI Workshop
- Participant
- 17/1/2025
- Office for AI Expert Workshop: AI life cycle accountability
- Participant
- 1/6/2023
Projects
- Strathclyde Centre for Doctoral Training in Human Rights-based Decision-Making
- Harkens, Adam (Co-investigator) Miyake, Esperanza (Co-investigator) Nicol, Emma (Co-investigator) Ntona, Maria (Co-investigator) Schippers, Birgit (Co-investigator) Webster, Elaine (Co-investigator)
- 01-Oct-2023 - 31-Mar-2027