This groundbreaking project aimed to produce a set of transnational principles that are intended for use in various legal systems, irrespective of the otherwise applicable legal framework. They are designed to make existing law in the field of the data economy more coherent and inspire the further development of the law by courts and legislators worldwide.

ELI wishes to congratulate Project Reporters, Professor Neil Cohen and Professor Christiane Wendehorst as well as Project Chairs, Lord John Thomas and Steven O Weise for their immense work and great achievement. Gratitude is also due to the members of the Advisory Committee and Members Consultative Committee of both organisations, who provided comments and support to the Team throughout the lifespan of the project.

The results of the Project were already approved by the ALI Council in January 2020 (Principles 1–10 and 16–23) and January 2021 (Principles 11–15 and 24–40), as well as by the ALI Membership in May 2021.

The Final Council Draft of the ALI-ELI Principles for a Data Economy will now be submitted for a vote to the ELI Membership and will be published on the ELI website on approval.

We are pleased to announce that the Principles will be presented and discussed on 6 September 2021 at 17:15 – 18:30 CET during the ELI Annual Conference. There will also be a ‘Principles for a Data Economy Conference’ on 18–19 October 2021, which the public is welcome to attend at no charge. Further details are available here.

On the European side, the project is generously funded by the Fritz Thyssen Foundation.