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11 February 2026
Issue: 8149 / Categories: Legal News , Technology , Artificial intelligence , Human rights
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Sir Geoffrey Vos on justice in the machine age

Society needs to consider ‘urgently’ how to ‘preserve the fundamentals of justice for humans’ in the ‘machine age’ of artificial intelligence (AI), the Master of the Rolls, Sir Geoffrey Vos has warned

Speaking at the Old Bailey last week, Sir Geoffrey said: ‘Human judges must be central to final justice decisions affecting people’s lives.’

He called for ‘an expedited resolution of several knotty, even existential, questions’, namely, what decisions should always be made by humans, when should an individual or business be able to consent to a machine-made judicial decision, and what rules of technologically verified evidence should be adopted?

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Clarke Willmott—Matthew Roach

Clarke Willmott—Matthew Roach

Partner joins commercial property team in Taunton office

Farrer & Co—Richard Lane

Farrer & Co—Richard Lane

Londstanding London firm appoints new senior partner

Bird & Bird—Sue McLean

Bird & Bird—Sue McLean

Commercial team in London welcomes technology specialist as partner

NEWS
What safeguards apply when trust corporations are appointed as deputy by the Court of Protection? 
Disputing parties are expected to take part in alternative dispute resolution (ADR), where this is suitable for their case. At what point, however, does refusing to participate cross the threshold of ‘unreasonable’ and attract adverse costs consequences?
When it comes to free legal advice, demand massively outweighs supply. 'Millions of people are excluded from access to justice as they don’t have anywhere to turn for free advice—or don’t know that they can ask for help,' Bhavini Bhatt, development director at the Access to Justice Foundation, writes in this week's NLJ
When an ex-couple is deciding who gets what in the divorce or civil partnership dissolution, when is it appropriate for a third party to intervene? David Burrows, NLJ columnist and solicitor advocate, considers this thorny issue in this week’s NLJ
NLJ's latest Charities Appeals Supplement has been published in this week’s issue
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