Questions at the Interface Between Automated Decision Making, Administrative Law and Socio‑Economic Rights: The Example of Access to Affordable Housing in Kenya
Posted: 18 March, 2022 Filed under: Alexander Beyleveld | Tags: Access to Affordable Housing, ADM, ADM technologies, administrative law, Affordable Homes Program, automated decision-making, automated processing, constitutional law, CRD System, data protection legislation, freedom from discrimination, fundamental rights, Kenya Data Protection Act, policy framework, right to equality 2 Comments
Author: Alexander Beyleveld
Senior Researcher at the Mandela Institute, University of the Witwatersrand
A number of African governments have begun to integrate automated decision-making (ADM) into processes that give effect to fundamental rights, which has given rise to a number of interesting questions about the manner in which different areas of law interact in ADM contexts. ADM has thus far been most directly regulated by data protection legislation, such as the Kenya Data Protection Act (KDPA). Automated decisions, however, also implicate administrative law, and constitutionally enshrined rights related to administrative action. An additional layer of complexity is added in situations where automated decisions form part of the process governments have elected to use to give effect to fundamental rights, especially when a number of different rights are implicated. Understanding the interface between ADM, data protection laws, administrative law and constitutional law, then, will only continue to grow in importance in assessing the extent to which governments are giving effect to certain fundamental rights – as well as for assessing the extent to which governments and individuals are actually reaping the potential benefits of ADM technologies in the first place.
AfricLaw 