The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has called on stakeholders to review and provide feedback on the draft Guidelines for the Use of AI Systems in Courts and Tribunals that it developed. The Guidelines aim to offer comprehensive guidance to courts and tribunals to ensure that the deployment of AI technologies aligns with the fundamental principles of justice, human rights, and the rule of law.
In 2023, UNESCO conducted a survey on the use of AI systems by judicial operators which found that 93% of judicial operators surveyed were familiar with AI technologies, with 44% already using AI tools such as ChatGPT for work-related activities. The survey revealed further that only 9% of the organizations of the judicial operators surveyed had issued guidelines or provided AI-related training, thereby underlining the need for guidance on the use of AI systems in courts and tribunals.
As part of UNESCO’s AI and the Rule of Law programme, under the Global Judges Initiative, UNESCO, in collaboration with international experts, developed the draft Guidelines for the Use of AI Systems in Courts and Tribunals.
The guidelines were developed as part of UNESCO’s Global Toolkit on AI and the Rule of Law funded by the European Commission project on “Supporting Member States in Implementing UNESCO’s Recommendation on the Ethics of AI through Innovative Tools”.
According to UNESCO, the draft guidelines have undergone preliminary expert review and are now open for public consultation in English until September 5, 2024. Comment can be made through This Form.
It explained that the draft guidelines were formulated and informed by the UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of AI, with the aim of ensuring that AI technologies are utilized within judicial systems in a manner that upholds justice, human rights, and the rule of law.
UNESCO encourages stakeholders, including judicial professionals, legal experts, and the public, to review and provide feedback on the draft guidelines.
Please review the draft Guidelines here.
For more details and to share comments and feedback please visit https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/unesco-launches-open-consultation-new-guidelines-ai-use-judicial-systems.
