Carl Vander Maelen

Carl is a PhD researcher in the research group Law & Technology at Ghent University and the assistant to prof. dr. Eva Lievens. He is affiliated with the department of Interdisciplinary Study of Law, Private Law and Business Law, the activities of the Ghent Rolin-Jaequemyns International Law Institute (GRILI) and the knowledge and research platform Privacy, Information Exchange, Law Enforcement and Surveillance (PIXLES).

His PhD project is entitled ‘Don’t count your codes before they hatch: A theoretical and empirical analysis of codes of conduct under the General Data Protection Regulation’. The doctoral research investigates 1) the legal characteristics of GDPR codes of conduct, 2) how GDPR codes of conduct are implemented in practice, and 3) whether GDPR codes of conduct contribute to the convergence or divergence of global data protection standards.

He has presented his work at a variety of conferences, such as the Pacific Telecommunications Council 2023 conference in Honolulu, Hawaii; the International Telecommunications Society (ITS) Europe 2022 conference in Gothenburg, Sweden; the Privacy Law Scholars Conference (PLSC) Europe 2019 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands; and more. His work has been published in international journals such as International Data Privacy Law and European Law Review, and he is one of the co-editors of the book ‘An introduction to law and technology' (published by Owl Press). 

Carl was awarded the PTC 2023 Emerging Scholar Award by the Pacific Telecommunications Council. He received the award for ‘Best Postgraduate Article’ during the 2019 BILETA Conference for his paper ‘From Opt-In to Obligation? Regulating Globally Operating Tech Companies through Alternative Regulatory Instruments’. He was also awarded the ‘Young Scholar Award – 1st Prize’ during the 2018 Amsterdam Privacy Conference for his paper ‘Online Age Verification Mechanisms in the Personal Data Protection Framework: A Battle for the Ages?’.

Prior to his current position, he completed internships at the Embassy of Belgium in Washington D.C. and the Brussels data protection law firm Timelex. During his studies, he took part in the Philip C. Jessup International Moot Court. Carl obtained his Master’s degree in Law from Ghent University in 2017.