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20 February 2026 / Ben Roe
Issue: 8150 / Categories: Features , In Court , Artificial intelligence , Technology
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Justice by AI?

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From document management to decision-making: Ben Roe explores the practical applications of AI in the courtroom

  • This article considers the legal framework governing use of AI in the English courts, and the relative absence of specific guidance.
  • It explores the practical applications of AI in court, including efficiency tools and advocacy assistance, alongside emerging concerns around the use of AI to generate evidence, assess emotions in court and make judicial decisions.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to transform litigation, from how lawyers research and draft documents to how cases are managed. The civil courts are no exception. As this potential becomes more obvious, fundamental questions about the proper role of AI in the courtroom demand attention.

What are the rules?

The regulatory framework governing the use of AI in court remains strikingly underdeveloped. Judges and practitioners looking for clear guidance on what they may do will search largely in vain.

  • This is not for want of activity. At the international level, both UNESCO and the Council of Europe
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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Arc Pensions Law—Matthew Swynnerton

Arc Pensions Law—Matthew Swynnerton

Chair of the Association of Pension Lawyers joins as partner

Ampa Group—Kamal Chauhan

Ampa Group—Kamal Chauhan

Group names Shakespeare Martineau partner head of Sheffield office

Blake Morgan—four promotions

Blake Morgan—four promotions

Four legal directors promoted to partner across UK offices

NEWS

The abolition of assured shorthold tenancies and section 21 evictions marks the beginning of a ‘brave new world’ for England’s rental sector, writes Daniel Bacon of Seddons GSC

Stephen Gold’s latest Civil Way column rounds up a flurry of procedural and regulatory changes reshaping housing, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and personal injury litigation
Patients are being systematically failed by an NHS complaints regime that is opaque, poorly enforced and often stacked against them, argues Charles Davey of The Barrister Group
A wealthy Russian divorce battle has produced a sharp warning about trying to challenge foreign nuptial agreements in the wrong English court. Writing in NLJ this week, Vanessa Friend and Robert Jackson of Hodge Jones & Allen examine Timokhin v Timokhina, where the High Court enforced Russian judgments arising from a prenuptial agreement despite arguments based on the landmark Radmacher decision
An obscure Victorian tort may be heading for an unexpected revival after a significant Privy Council ruling that could reshape liability for dangerous escapes, according to Richard Buckley, barrister and emeritus professor of law at the University of Reading
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