Mr Zoltán Turbék

Zoltán Turbék is an independent expert/consultant focusing on AI governance/regulation, multilateral diplomacy and international law. He is a former career diplomat and UN (IAEA and WHO) staff member with 20 years of experience in international law and multilateral policy-making processes. He has a long-time interest in technology and law, as well as passion for improving system-wide cooperation among international organizations and building partnerships. 

Between 2023-2025, Mr Turbék served as his country’s envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary/Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva. Prior to that he acted as Director of the Department of International Organizations/Human Rights at the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He also served as Vice-Chair of the UN General Assembly’s Legal/Sixth Committee and as Legal Adviser/Counterterrorism Expert at the Permanent Mission of Hungary to the UN in New York. 

As a member of the Council of Europe’s Committee on Artificial Intelligence (CAI), Mr Turbék actively contributed to drafting the first-ever international treaty regulating the use of Artificial Intelligence. He also had the privilege to co-chair the Policy Development Group of the Council of Europe’s Ad Hoc Committee on Artificial Intelligence (CAHAI) between 2019-2021, and to serve as his country’s head of delegation during the negotiations of the UNESCO recommendation on the Ethics of AI. 

Mr Turbék has recently been elected to serve as a Member of the International Law Association’s new AI & Technology Law Committee and as Deputy Lead (Research & Projects) of its Sub-Committee on Global Norms, Governance, and Comparative Regulation.

He is a frequent speaker on AI regulation/governance, UN affairs, and human rights, and is currently interested in the legal and governance aspects of submarine cables, AI and human rights, and the role of technical standards in governing emerging technologies.