diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index bc89b0d3cf9a35abc7464f42aed5f40d0b3234ec..1fab6fd6f2ebc219ded4083ebac46335fea65f29 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -1,3 +1,10 @@
+stages:
+    - test
+    - deploy
+
+variables:
+  PIP_CACHE_DIR: "$CI_PROJECT_DIR/.cache/pip"
+
 lint-openapi:
     image:
         name: redocly/cli
@@ -36,6 +43,20 @@ test-frontend:
             - cypress/screenshots
         expire_in: 1 week
 
+test-python:
+    image: python:latest
+    stage: test
+    cache: 
+      paths:
+        - .cache/pip
+    before_script:
+        - pip install pipenv
+        - pipenv requirements --dev > requirements.txt
+        - pip install -r requirements.txt 
+    script:
+        - black --check $CI_PROJECT_DIR
+        - mypy .
+
 # This snippet is copied and modified from the GitLab Documentation (as of 2021-01-10, the contents of the script seem to have changed by now)
 #   * Title of the documentation page: "Building a Docker image with kaniko"
 #   * Author: (c) 2011-present GitLab B.V.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 6717fb317f49e2e8316f240c8f180409ae16833f..bfbb32bcfa11c060b7c868d59ff592ef01458164 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -94,6 +94,17 @@ Please run `alembic upgrade head` after pulling changes from the repository.
 
 ---
 
+## Compliance
+
+### Formatting
+
+We use [black](https://github.com/psf/black) as formatting tool.
+Use `black .` to run the formatter.
+
+### Static Type Checking
+
+Run `mypy .` to let [mypy](https://www.mypy-lang.org/) validate the Python types.
+
 ## How to move around in this repo
 
 ## `/portal/`: Main Application
diff --git a/portal/__init__.py b/portal/__init__.py
index 642054e1eae3ce4ca477b4d960c33113987b6bb5..99937d5f6c96730cb3a75a2f8c00ab45734ba5c5 100644
--- a/portal/__init__.py
+++ b/portal/__init__.py
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ from flask_sqlalchemy import SQLAlchemy
 
 from .db_config import get_database_uri, get_uri_for_sqlite
 
-db = SQLAlchemy()
+db: SQLAlchemy = SQLAlchemy()
 
 from .model import *
 
diff --git a/portal/model/FlaskConfigEntry.py b/portal/model/FlaskConfigEntry.py
index 378aed8320af2ee381777e3eb8bcbee363bd60b1..96a53ba54d5fdb7c316181c91ee27d3ba8fe9e40 100644
--- a/portal/model/FlaskConfigEntry.py
+++ b/portal/model/FlaskConfigEntry.py
@@ -1,9 +1,12 @@
 from flask import Flask
+from typing import Any
 
 from portal import db
 
+BaseModel: Any = db.Model
 
-class FlaskConfigEntry(db.Model):
+
+class FlaskConfigEntry(BaseModel):
     """
     A configuration entry for Flask (a key-value pair) as persisted in a database
     """
diff --git a/portal/model/Retrievable.py b/portal/model/Retrievable.py
index 1b7c6495c41b7e1aace3d3628fa627b34ae3b56a..4608b14500c4d77b4907203b28c2ff2a0e028bb8 100644
--- a/portal/model/Retrievable.py
+++ b/portal/model/Retrievable.py
@@ -1,12 +1,15 @@
 from abc import abstractmethod
 from typing import Any, List, Optional, Self
+from sqlalchemy import Column
 
 from flask import g
 
 from portal import db
 
+BaseModel: Any = db.Model
 
-class Retrievable(db.Model):
+
+class Retrievable(BaseModel):
     """
     A type whose instances can be retrieved from the database.
 
@@ -17,7 +20,7 @@ class Retrievable(db.Model):
     __abstract__ = True
 
     @classmethod
-    def get_canonical_order_column(cls) -> Optional[db.Column]:
+    def get_canonical_order_column(cls) -> Optional[Column]:
         """
         Return the colum by which instances of this type should be canonically ordered
         when retrieving them all from the database.