Artificial Intelligence’s next challenge: Indian courts face millions of pending cases

Rave News

As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to develop, its potential to be integrated into various fields has sparked debate around the world. One area of ​​increasing concern is its use in the justice sector.

With a backlog of millions of pending cases, India’s judicial system could benefit from the use of artificial intelligence, experts say. However, they warn that such technology-led systems miss the unique nuances of some cases that require human judgment.

Vivek Agarwal, Country Director of the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBIGC) and MintHe said that the artificial intelligence function of the judicial department can significantly reduce the backlog of cases and improve efficiency, and cited successful cases in Japan that are using artificial intelligence to draft procedural judgments.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s eponymous nonprofit organization recently said it was advising some state governments in India to consider using artificial intelligence for administrative purposes in their offices.

Agarwal pointed to India-specific challenges such as algorithmic bias based on caste or gender, language barriers, lack of technology, inconsistent data formats and reluctance of judges to adopt artificial intelligence.

High courts in Delhi, Karnataka, Telangana, Punjab and Haryana have been experimenting with artificial intelligence tools for administrative reasons.

There are 66,054 pending cases in the Supreme Court of India alone. Apart from this, there are over 60 lakh cases in the High Court and a large number of other cases in the lower courts. Some legal experts have suggested using artificial intelligence to improve administrative efficiency and even handle complex tasks such as reviewing evidence.

They said that in areas such as insurance, banking and e-commerce, artificial intelligence tools can serve as interactive guides to help litigants understand the law through dynamic frequently asked questions (FAQs).

The Indian judiciary is currently integrating artificial intelligence into legal research, translation and predictive justice. In 2021, the Supreme Court launched the Supreme Court Efficiency Assistance Portal (SUPACE) to assist judges in understanding relevant case law and precedents, and the Supreme Court Vidhik Anuvaad Software (SUVAS), a tool that translates judgments and orders into nine Artificial intelligence tools for regional languages.

Many Indian data-centric AI companies are actively working on providing AI solutions in the judicial space. Nyaay AI, a product of Mumbai-based Indika AI, offers solutions such as automated filing by extracting data from case files, detection of flaws in filing, and smart case classification and grouping to determine urgency. The system also facilitates judgment research and machine translation.

Hardik Dave, founder of Indika AI, said the company is using proprietary or open source artificial intelligence platforms locally to maintain full control over judicial data to maintain privacy. It also deploys artificial intelligence on government servers to ensure data localization and compliance, and anonymizes data before processing sensitive information to protect privacy. Training is critical to understanding how AI tools can be integrated into existing systems, he said. “Judicial officers and lawyers need to learn the basics of artificial intelligence, data privacy and ethical use to ensure responsible application of artificial intelligence,” he said.

Future uses of artificial intelligence

Lawyers see potential in using artificial intelligence in certain areas. Mint A March report said India’s largest law firms are moving quickly to adopt artificial intelligence to perform a range of “simple” tasks, including research, drafting and client presentations, helping them become more efficient and allowing lawyers to focus on litigation.

Suvarna Mandal of Saikrishna and Associates said she sees the potential for AI to automatically schedule cases through sophisticated algorithms, draft administrative and procedural orders for final review by judges, flag cases for alternative dispute resolution and manage case files.

She added: “Artificial intelligence can potentially play a role through smart chatbots or legal inquiry systems accessible to the public, which can provide guidance and basic legal information to assist litigants.”

Excessive reliance on artificial intelligence output will affect the rationality of judges and lead to biased decision-making.

Others are more optimistic, believing that AI can take on more complex tasks that currently require human intervention. Justice Gautam Patel, a former judge of the Bombay High Court, said artificial intelligence-driven models can detect patterns in legal decision-making and assist in policy formulation and case management. For example, he said, AI could map trends in case distribution based on geography or age, providing policymakers with data to better allocate resources, such as increasing the number of judges in overburdened courts.

The former judge explained that AI’s ability to analyze judicial trends can help lawyers and litigants make informed decisions by identifying how different judges typically rule in specific areas of law. By providing data-driven insights, artificial intelligence can ensure that legal strategies are more tailored and efficient, ultimately helping to resolve cases faster.

Also read: Open online courts could enable massive reform of judicial processes

Limitations and risks of artificial intelligence

While the potential of artificial intelligence in the judicial field is clear, it also faces criticism. Experts believe that artificial intelligence lacks the expertise of legal practitioners and cannot take into account ethical standards and legal requirements.

Pradeep Nandrajog, former chief justice of the Bombay and Rajasthan high courts, and RC Chavan, former vice-chairman of the e-court committee of the Supreme Court, highlighted the limitations of artificial intelligence in adjudication and pointed out that every case is actually unique and cannot just It comes down to patterns or past precedent. They argue that AI cannot account for human factors such as corruption, omissions or subjective nuances that are common in litigation, especially in India.

Chavan noted that AI relies on precedent, which could slow down the evolution of legal principles. He questioned whether legal outcomes should be determined by the strict algorithms of the past. Nandrajog also expressed concern about AI’s inability to handle culturally nuanced cases, such as phonetic trademark disputes, where regional differences in pronunciation may affect the outcome, which AI may not be able to interpret correctly.

Some worry that overreliance on artificial intelligence could bring its own set of challenges. “Excessive reliance on artificial intelligence output will affect the rationality of judges and lead to biased decisions. Akshat Pande, managing partner of Alpha Partners, said that judges who are supposed to maintain equality and neutrality may favor artificial intelligence recommendations, leading to decisions that are inconsistent with rulings that conflict with the fundamental rights of citizens.

strike a balance

As AI technology advances, pressure is likely to increase on the judiciary to adopt it, especially in overburdened systems like India’s. Justices Patel and Chavan clarified that while artificial intelligence is crucial for the judiciary, it should not determine the verdict. They say artificial intelligence can help streamline court operations, but the substantive determination of cases should remain firmly in human hands.

Companies promoting artificial intelligence also agree that courts should not attempt to completely replace human judgment. “Artificial intelligence will assist the judicial process, but fully automated adjudication is still unlikely, especially for complex cases. However, artificial intelligence can handle minor, non-controversial cases that need to be resolved quickly,” Dave said.

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