ABSTRACT
Human civilization has been evolving its practices and methods from time immemorial to develop as a society. The most recent evolution is in the scientific field where every other thing that was deemed impossible was made possible by science.
The most recent development in the sector is artificial intelligence. According to Wikipedia Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines or software, as opposed to the intelligence of human beings or animals. In other words, humans have been successful in designing a machine or software that can think and comprehend the matter given to it. Artificial intelligence has been popularized in many sectors but in this research paper, we will only talk about the effect of AI on the legal justice system. Even though we will be keeping our main focus on the Indian legal system, we will also learn about various tools used in various countries. In the present scenario in the country, there is a war going on in the country. Criminals are using technologically advanced software to find loops holes in the legal system in our country. There is an immediate need for legislation which can incorporate AI into our legal system to find out those loopholes and makes the process of getting justice faster and easier. In this research paper, we will be dealing with the present as well as the futuristic view of AI in the legal justice system. We will critically examine every step of the criminal procedure and how the application of artificial intelligence can improve the procedure to make it faster and easier.
In the research paper, we will also be keeping tabs on the negative side of the application of Artificial Intelligence. Since AI is inevitably going to be a very important subject of matter for every sector of the country including law, this research paper will also emphasize the importance of learning AI and how artificial intelligence will help young lawyers and judges in the future. We will also be trying to find the answer to a very important question “Can AI replace judges and lawyers in the court of law?”. AI in the legal system is a revolutionary change but keeping a boundary on its function is also an area to base the reach on.
KEYWORDS
The criminal justice system, Artificial intelligence, Trial procedures, the court of law,
INTRODUCTION
Artificial intelligence as defined by John McCarthy the inventor of the term “Artificial intelligence” is “allowing a machine to behave in such a way that it would be called intelligent if a human being behaved in such a way.”[1] In layman’s terms, Artificial Intelligence is termed when a machine or software works like it has Intelligence of its own just like humans. Artificial Intelligence mostly works on the data collected by the internet over the years. It analyzes the data and gives an appropriate answer to the query that has been kept before it. This method saves a lot of time for the researcher that would have been wasted looking into a variety of books. In legal studies, research is a very important aspect. Research is required to be made before the hearing of the case so that the precedent case laws can be presented in the court in favour of the ongoing case. Earlier research work was tedious and hectic but now with the use of AI tools finding a suitable case law is a matter of a few clicks. AI tools like chat GPT have made research in general very easy including legal research but the downside of using the Ai tools is that they are not 100% reliable. AI can also be used in the court as a reference machine. Ai can analyse the input data given to it and can come up with the most suitable solution to the problem. When all the case laws are fed to the AI software it process all the data and when some fact of the case are presented before it it comes up with relevant case laws that can be cited by the judge in his judgement.
Many countries are using AI tools in their judiciary. For example, the USA is using COMPAS which is a commercial system to access the likelihood of recidivism[2].
COMPAS is a case management and decision-supporting tool used by the US courts to access the likelihood of a defendant becoming a habitual offender. AI ROSS, developed by IBM, has been adopted in many law firms worldwide, particularly in the USA and is primarily used to vet legal contracts conduct legal research and briefly summarize case laws[3].
Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said: “The idea of Artificial intelligence is Not to supplant the human brain or the human mind or the presence of Judges but to provide a facilitative tool to judges to reassess the work which they do and to ensure that their outcomes are more predictable and consistent and ultimately provide wider access to justice to the common citizens[4]. Artificial Intelligence can make legal practitioners more efficient in advising their clients so that they can get easy access to justice.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This paper is elaborative. It is mostly based on secondary sources to impact artificial Intelligence on our legal system. Various secondary sources like websites blogs, journals etc are referred.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
As said by Sundar Pichai in 2020 that “Artificial intelligence is one of the most profound things we are working on as humanity. It is more profound than fire or electricity”. AI has become the way to the future for many scientists. AI will inevitably occupy a significant place in our lives in future. It is going to change our livelihood, way of thinking, lifestyle etc. Humans will be becoming much more dependent on the decisions of AI than on their own. Slow and surely machine-made decisions will be preferred over the human-made decision. Artificial Intelligence is being used in the judiciary of many countries like the USA, China, Russia etc., but they are limited to the point of survey and research. But in future the machines may be used in examining the accused, getting evidence and so on. In India, the Apex Court has decided to adopt advanced technology including artificial intelligence. Chief Justice of India D.Y.chandrachud has urged the judges to get acquainted with the technology to reduce the burden of the lawyers. AI is a mainstay of law-related professions Algorithms and machine learning do some tasks previously done by entry-level lawyers. In this paper, we will be discussing the effect of using AI in the procedures followed in court cases.
The court procedures constitute the following stages:-
- Pretrial procedures
- Trial procedures
- Judgement
- Impact of AI on Pre-trial Procedures
- Registration of FIR/complaint case
After the commission of the crime filing of the FIR moves the criminal justice system into action. First Information Report (FIR) is filed under section 154 of Cr.P.c. FIR is registered mostly by the victim or anyone who witnessed or heard the incident. Mostly when the victim is writing or dictating the incident there is the possibility that some mistake may have been done by the person. For example, if someone is writing an FIR for someone else who is illiterate, he may make some mistake in recording the facts which may affect the proceedings of the trial.
Furthermore, when a report/FIR is instituted via phone call, they can be some mistakes in recording the facts due to poor network connections. These problems can be solved if FIR is registered through AI software FIR recorded by the AI software will be more accurate and dependable than one written by a human being.
In the case of a registered complaint the victims have to submit a written complaint the victim has to submit a written complaint to the magistrate or he can orally state his complaint which shall be reduced to written form by the magistrate. This complaint shall be acted upon by the magistrate or it can be forwarded to the magistrate of competent jurisdiction. This process can be accelerated by the use of the AI machine saving a lot of time for the court. Here AI can reduce the workload of the courts by converting the oral complaints into written form and transferring the case to the court of proper jurisdiction by analyzing the facts and laws that are raised in the complaint. AI machine also has the potential to detect a habitual offender which will give the presiding judge a clear view as to the nature of the accused. Ai is being used to predict potential victims of violent crime based on association and behaviour. The Chicago police department and Illinois Institute of Technology used algorithms to collect information and form initial grouping that focus on constructing social network and performing analysis to determine potential high-risk individual[5].
- Investigation: –
The investigation is defined in section 2(h) of the code of criminal procedure. The investigation includes all the proceedings under this code for the collection of evidence conducted by a police officer or by any person (other than a magistrate) who is authorized by a magistrate on his behalf. AI has the potential to improve efficiency in investigating crimes. The system uses historical crime data to identify patterns and predict future crime enabling the police to take proactive measures and prevent crimes from happening[6] .
Furthermore, in I future after the development of AI software we can predict who has the highest chance of committing the offence between the suspect. This can be done by AI by analyzing the data that has been collected over the years and even considering the circumstantial facts of the case. An important aspect of the investigation is the examination of the witnesses. Section 161 of CrPC and section 162 of CrPC deals with the examination of witness by police.
Sometimes examination by the police can be intimidating for some people due to the strict nature of the police officer. AI has the potential to make this process of examination smoother and intimidation free to uphold the principles of Fair trial. The AI software can be so programmed to ask the necessary question to the examinee. The female victim will feel more comfortable answering the intimate question if it is asked by a machine rather than by any person. AI can intelligently record the statement to understand and analyze the connection and contradiction of the statement given by the various witnesses.
AI is also used in forensic labs in DNA and chemical analysis of evidence that are recovered from the crime scene. The use of DNA fingerprinting and analysis accelerates the process of finding the culprit. In a rape case if the semen DNA matches the accused DNA it is conclusive proof. AI can also detect the culprit from the criminal database by using the DNA imprints that have been stored in the database. This method is generally used with criminals having criminal records.
AI technology is also being used in video analyzing and synchronizing to catch the culprit CCTV camera footage, a black box present in the car may have recorded videos of the crime when it was happening. In future when the technology is advanced enough, this AI technique could be installed in the CCTV camera which will allow the camera to differentiate between the normal incident and crime. And after recognizing the crime it can inform the police department about the crime. This will help in curtailing the crime rate in society.
- Police report
The police report is defined under section 173 (2) of the CrPC as the final report culminating all the investigation forwarded to the magistrate calling for action against the charges. AI can help the police officer in finding the specific law and provision that can be applied to the fact of the case. This will help the police to form a strong case against the accused.
2. Impact of AI on criminal Trial procedures
AI machines have great potential to decrease the workload on courts. AI can help with case prediction, document apprised, contract analysis, and legal research. It may assist in resolving disputes by providing mediation services[7]. AI can also be used in verifying the authenticity of the documentary evidence which are produced before the court. This technology can surely change the scenario of the court by making every procedure more transparent. AI can replace humans in recording the proceeding of the court. The digitalization of court means faster and more efficient means of justice delivery and Artificial intelligence will play a crucial role in it.
AI can help the presiding judge during the argument in court by hinting as to which argument is admissible in court and which is not. It will also help the court to know that case laws cited by the advocates are valid or have been overruled by the appellate court and will not be admissible in the court of law.
3. Impact of AI on judgement delivery
After the trial procedures, the judge announces the judgment which includes ratio decidendi and Obitar dicta. AI also has the potential to help in judgement writing by summarizing and analysing the facts and argument along with the evidence presented before the court.AI also provide the judge with related case laws to cite in the judgement. In a recent development, the supreme court has been using AI-controlled tools designed to process information and make it available to the judges for decision. Another tool that is used by the Supreme Court of India is SUVAS (Supreme court vidhik Anuvaad Software)which translates the judgement of the court into various vernacular languages and vice versa[8]. Recently the Punjab and Haryana high court rejected a bail petition due to the allegation by the prosecution that the petitioner was involved in a brutal Fatal assault. The presiding judge requested input From Chat GPT to gain a wider view on granting bail when cruelty is involved[9]. But the opinion of the ChatGPT will not be considered in the trial court it is just a reference to wider the view of the presiding judge as it does not have any merit on the facts of the case.
POSSIBLE FUTURE LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS OF AI ON THE LEGAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
AI will have a great impact on the legal system in the future. But not all impacts will be positive. Excess use of AI will cause problems which are discussed below:
- The bias of Artificial Intelligence: – Artificial Intelligence mostly takes its decision on the previous data that has been provided to the AI machine hence its decision can be biased towards the habitual offenders. Hence the decision of the AI is not fully dependable in the case of Habitual culprits.
- Complex programming: – Most AI machines have complex mechanisms and in future the programming will be more complex and it will be much more difficult for the layman to understand the work and the basis of the decision taken by the AI machine. This may make the trial procedure less transparent hence, hampering the fair trial principle of criminal justice.
- Lack of conscience in the court decisions: – The main objective of the court is to deliver justice and while it is necessary to abided by the law during pronouncing the judgement it is very much important for the presiding judge to have a conscience so that he can have balanced view of the case and can pronounce a just verdict. But if the court will mostly depend on the AI machine for its decision there is a possibility that the principle of natural justice will not be followed.
- Over-dependence on the AI machine: – AI machines are very much efficient and reliable hence there is a possibility that in the future people will be overdependent on AI to make their decision which is also the case for the judiciary. Overdependency will lead to neglect in work by the court officials which is not in the good faith of justice.
- Hackable nature of the AI:- The AI being a software can surely be hacked by someone. Imagine if our all files which contain even our DNA imprints are accessible to some hacker then he can cause great harm to the lives of the people. The same is the case in the judiciary even if the judgement of the court I available for the public to see there are some things that the court keeps in secrecy like the identity of a rape victim. Hence falling of such type of information into the hands of hackers can harm the reputation of the victim and in due course will reduce the faith of the public in the judiciary.
After discussing all the above important aspects of AI in the judiciary, now we shall try to answer the question of “Can AI replace judges and lawyers in the court of law?”
The answer to this question will be no. AI can never replace the judges or lawyers or more as they should never replace the judges and lawyers because the only thing an AI will not be having during fighting these cases will be ‘Humanity’. AI will not be able to empathize with the victim it will always keep a practical approach and hence can be insensitive sometimes. Former CJI Sharad Arvind Bobde said, “We have the possibility of developing AI for the purpose o ensuring that undue delay in justice delivery is prevented; not to replace human judges and human discretion”.[10] Here he specifically said that AI should only be there to help the judges to deliver a faster judgement and replace them in the court of law.
Conclusion and suggestion
After discussing the various views and points relating to AI it is evident that AI is becoming more and more involved in our lives and future AI will play a major role in almost every sector of the country. As the times will change, we have to adapt the technology to make our future better. Since we are more concerned about the judiciary, the judiciary will also be affected greatly by the development in the sector of technology. Our legal justice system will have to upgrade itself to match the changing scenarios of society hence it can be untouched by the use of AI in its regular proceedings. Even if now AI machines are not that extensively used but in the future AI will be advanced enough to give revolution to the legal field, hence we need not be intimidated by AI but use it to our benefit by keeping its limitation in view. We should also be aware to not get dependent on AI technology this will create no. of problems in society. Hence we can conclude that AI is a beneficial development of science if used and kept with precautions.
TAPAS MOHANTY
MADHUSUDAN LAW UNIVERSITY
[1] J. McCarthy, ”A proposal for the Dartmouth summer research project on Artificial Intelligence (31 August 1955)
[2] Jeff Larson, Julia Angwin (23 May) “How we analysed the COMPAS recidivism Algorithm”, (10 July 2023), propublica.com, https://www.propublica.org/article/how-we-analyzed-the-compas-recidivism-algorithm#:~:text=Our%20analysis%20of%20Northpointe%E2%80%99s%20tool%2C%20called%20COMPAS%20%28which,defendants%20to%20be%20incorrectly%20flagged%20as%20low%20risk.
[3] Ananth Kini, “Artificial Intelligence and the legal profession: An “intelligent” way ahead, (3rd June 2020), Bar and Bench,10th July 2023 12:54 PM,
[4] lexology.com, https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=f206a791-d35e-4f55-ba13-139b478f628e, 10th August
[5] Christopher Rigano, ‘Using artificial Intelligence to address criminal justice needs, “NJI Journal 280, pg 8 2019
[6] Arghya, The future of criminal law: Exploring the use of predictive Analytics and AI in criminal justice, legalserviceindia. com(13 August 2023 9:30 pm, https://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-10342-the-future-of-criminal-law-exploring-the-use-of-predictive-analytics-and-al-in-criminal-justice.html#:~:text=Automated%20decision%2Dmaking%20processes%20may,right%20to%20a%20fair%20trial.
[7] Ashwin, use o AI in civil cases in India – Analysis of possible implication, Enhelionblogs. com,(14 August2023,6:30 pm)
[8] Aditi Prabhu, Artificial Intelligence in the Context of the Indian legal profession and judicial system, Barandbench.com, (12 August, 1:01 pm)
[9] Jaswinder Singh vs state of Punjab and another 2023: PHHC:044541
[10] Thehindu.com, https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/apex-court-is-exploring-possibility-of-adopting-ai-says-cji/article30546540.ece, 14 august 2023