Clara I. Velasco Rico

Artificial intelligence, administrative law and public administration

Clara Isabel Velasco Rico specialises in the legal regulation of artificial intelligence in public administration. Her work examines algorithmic transparency, automated administrative action and digital public services.

Research and selected publications

Current roles

She is Vice-President of the Commission for the Guarantee of the Right of Access to Public Information (GAIP), an independent body whose members are appointed by the Parliament of Catalonia.

She is a Serra Húnter Associate Professor of Administrative Law at Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), currently on leave. She holds accreditation for appointment as Full Professor.

Research

Her research focuses on AI regulation, algorithmic transparency, automated administrative action, digital government and the EU AI Act. Her broader interests include access to public information, accountability and comparative federalism. She is a member of UPF’s Observatori de l’Evolució de les Institucions (Obsei).

Her research includes DIGITAPIA — Digital Transition in Public Administrations and Artificial Intelligence: Keys, Risks and Proposals of Regulatory Policy (TED2021-132191B-I00). The project received Spanish Government funding under the 2021 call for strategic projects supporting the ecological and digital transitions.

Academic background and experience

She holds a PhD in Law from UPF (2009), awarded cum laude unanimously, a Law degree from UPF (2001) and a Political Science degree from the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (2012). Her doctoral thesis received the Jordi Solé Tura Prize for research on democracy. AQU Catalunya has recognised three six-year research periods and four five-year teaching periods.

She has undertaken research stays at the University of Siena, Italy (2004); Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Bloomington, United States (2005); Sciences Po, Paris, France (2012 and 2013); and the Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada (2014).

She served as Deputy Editor of the Revista Catalana de Dret Públic (Catalan Journal of Public Law) from February 2022 to February 2024. Subject to applicable compatibility rules, she also gives selected talks and supervises student work.