USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN JUDICIARY
Researched and drafted by Ms. Liyana Shaji, student at Symbiosis Law School, Pune [2020]
Indore, August 30, 2020
Artificial Intelligence is the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, especially computer systems. As it takes over the world, the legal fraternity too seems to fall under it. The Indian Legal sector has not experienced an effective innovation in terms of technology as lawyers continue to rely on the conventional methods which were shaped years ago. The introduction of AI into the legal world can bring about a change that would cut short various complications experienced. The Indian Judiciary has been facing hurdles like shortage of judges and an increasing number of pending cases in various courts. The judiciary is under a pressure to deliver quality judgments in all the cases within a stringent time period.
As per McKinsey, 23% of a lawyer’s job can be automated[1] and an AI- based system that is specifically designed for a particular judicial task can prove to be very effective as it could assist the judges in providing several details about a particular case, thus enabling them to accomplish their goal effortlessly with the presence of highly advanced tools. A slew of Indian legal tech startups i.e. SpotDraft, CaseMine, NearLaw, Pensieve, Practice League etc are building Natural Language Processing (hereinafter NLP) based applications and introducing next-generation legal research platforms that help law firms go beyond simple, keyword-based research, thereby making it less time-consuming. Many legal startups are fast rising in Artificial Intelligence research capabilities, some of who have their own AI research labs.[2]
In a landmark study by researchers at the Stanford Law School, Duke Law, and the University of Southern California, it was observed that an AI-based system ‘LawGeex’ outperformed a team of 20 renowned US lawyers, having decades of legal experience, in the task to spot issues in five Non-Disclosure Agreements (hereinafter NDA). The ‘LawGeex’ attained an average accuracy of 94%, whereas the lawyers managed to achieve only 85%. The most interesting fact is that the ‘LawGeex’ took only 26 seconds for finishing the task, while the lawyers took 92 minutes on an average for the same job.[3]
The increasing level of competition in the legal industry in India as well as abroad calls for novel and innovative advancements in technology. It, thus, becomes imperative for law firms to put them into use and the future law firms would be completely different from what is seen today. They will be able to innovate improved ideas to serve their clients and a high emphasis on brand value will also be focused on.
It is believed that artificial intelligence has a vast scope for the Indian Legal Sector and a combination of artificial intelligence and law can witness immense growth in the near future. Currently, there are many fields or arenas in which artificial intelligence in law is proving to be useful. These include:
Due Diligence –To review a contract, conduct legal research or performing electronic discovery functions to do due diligence, AI legal software are proving to be helpful and time effective.
Prediction Technology- Artificial intelligence legal software also predicts the probable outcome of the cases being adjudicated before the Court of Law.
Legal Analytics- Artificial Intelligence provides for the data points from past case laws, and also provides judgments and precedent law to be used by lawyers in their present cases.
Automation of Documentation- By just submitting the required documents which are needed to be incorporated in the legal document, the legal document can be generated within minutes.
Intellectual Property- Tools of artificial intelligence help in providing insights into the IP portfolios i.e. search and registration of a trademark, patent, copyrights etc.
Electronic Billing- Artificial intelligence legal software also helps the lawyer and Firms in preparing the invoices as per the work done by them. It makes an accurate billing for the work done by a lawyer, thus helps both lawyers and clients.[4]
Despite certain apprehensions, such as the judiciary’s accountability perhaps reducing due to incomprehensibility of the AI based system or the possibility of having an automation bias or prejudice, the benefits of adopting AI to an extent will enforce efficiency after a thorough scrutiny.
CROSS COUNTRY ANALYSIS
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Country/ Region |
E-Courts/ Virtual Courts |
Types of cases adjudicated |
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United Kingdom
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Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) reforms programme aims to modernise judiciary through technology.[5] |
Phase 1 – Basic versions of online services for divorce and probate cases, civil money claims, social security pleas, and online plea services. Phase 2 – Extended to public family law cases, and immigration and asylum tribunals. Phase 3 (ongoing) – Common platform testing for criminal cases will continue.[6] |
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China |
Due to government policies to increase innovation, high-tech initiatives in China have been growing rapidly. Most notably, artificial intelligence (“AI”) has been experiencing an accelerated growth.[7] Both private firms and public institutions have been actively developing legal technologies. Some important trends are AI, big data, and online legal service providers.[8] |
Internet courts primarily adjudicate ecommerce and intellectual property related disputes.[9] |
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United States of America |
NextGen CM/ECF which allows for online filing of case documents and provides a comprehensive database of case records.[10] |
Small claims, consumer disputes, domain names.
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Singapore |
e-Litigation system allows for e-filing and electronic generation of orders.[11] |
Motor vehicle claims, ecommerce.
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