Katalyst was invited to present observations about the interface between digital tools and value chain governance as the 2025 Asser Institute Spring Academy in the Hague.
During the 4-day event, practitioners and academics critically reflected on the role of digital technologies in the governance of global value chains through the sustainability due diligence process.
Developed by the Digichain project, the sessions explore how the practice of due diligence in the future will be digital, in the sense that companies and regulators will use digital technologies, foremost AI-driven, to reach and evaluate compliance with the new rules. Digital technologies and data analysis provide the infrastructure that shapes the due diligence process and determines its effectiveness.
The DigiChain project explores interconnections between regulatory and technological developments, and identifies the features of these emerging ‘techno-legalities’ and how they are assembled into a new governance regime for the global economy. The project brings together scholars with a background in law, economics and business, as well as informatics for an integrated analysis of digitalized due diligence and value chain governance. The team includes Robert Bwana, Dr Klaas Eller, Dr Debraj Roy, Dr Michelle Westermann-Behaylo, and Asser senior researcher Antoine Duval.
Learn more about the event here. The T.M.C. Asser Institute is an internationally renowned centre of expertise in the fields of public international law, private international law and European law.
