- Abstract:
Constitution of India is the fundamental law governing the nation. Understanding the interpretation of the language used in the Constitution is essential for adapting the legal system to societal needs and is crucial for safeguarding the individual rights and freedom. Since 1950, Supreme Court of India has addressed substantial questions of law regarding Constitutional interpretation, as the language plays a significant role in legal understanding. Constitutional interpretation is widely based on the ideals and motives of the country, but it greatly relies on the court’s interpretative method. Thus, whenever the language of Constitution is ambiguous or silent on any subject, courts must interpret statutes during legal proceedings. Evolution of interpretation of Constitution has been based on various theories in the past, such as textualism, structuralism, originalism, pragmatism, purposive or progressive approach and various doctrines have been incorporated with time. Thus, the complications in the interpretation are evident.
This research paper explores the role of Artificial Intelligence in interpreting the Constitution with a specific focus on both opportunities and challenges in the said intersection. The paper examines how AI technologies such as Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Large Language Models (LLM), can assist in interpretation of Constitution by analysing legal text, case analysis, identifying precedents, predictive analysis. However, the paper also navigates the various limitations of AI in capturing the contextual, cultural and historical nuances inherent in the Constitution. The research reinforces the balance of technological advancements and judicial interpretative methods and Constitutional integrity. Furthermore, as to how ethical issues regarding the use of AI in the legal field are of prime importance, and effective guidelines can help mitigate them.
- Keywords:
AI, Constitutional interpretation, India, legal, language, courts.
- Introduction:
In the 21st century use of technological advancements in the legal field is ever increasing. It has significantly influenced the legal system in India, the Supreme Court introduced the SUVAS (Supreme Court Vidhik Anuvaad Software) and in 2019 and SUPAC (Supreme Court Portal for Assistance in Court Efficiency) in 2021.
So what is AI? The oxford dictionary defines Artificial Intelligence as “the theory and development of computer systems able to perform tasks normally requiring human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making and translation between languages.”
AI with its language models such as NLP and LLM can be widely used to analyse text, case analysis, finding precedents, they can improve the efficiency, make available quick access to legal information and offer various perspectives on intricate matters. The Constitution of India being an intricate legal document is subject to various interpretations by courts, scholars and policymakers. Hence, language plays a crucial role in legal understanding as it is ultimately related to the decision making and widely affects the rights and liabilities of the individuals in our society. Over the time the court has acquired various theories and doctrines for effective interpretation of the language of our Constitution, use of the AI in interpreting the language can help the courts to work efficiently and eliminate the pending cases.
The research paper aims to find out whether the use of AI can be made in interpreting the language of Indian Constitution that is considered as the living Constitution as it evolves with societal needs, beliefs and dynamics. And what limitation can be faced by using the AI assistance in interpreting language.
- Research Methodology:
This research paper is of descriptive nature and uses secondary sources such as newspapers, articles and websites for understanding the viewpoints of various studies on Artificial intelligence and its relevance in legal field and to find out whether AI can assist in interpreting Constitution. Further, to analyse the ethical use of AI in the Indian legal system.
- Review of Literature:
Various research studies and legal analysis have been conducted in order to understand the applicability of AI technology in the field of law. These studies have rightly observed both the growing potential and the concerns associated with technological advances. They also examine the AI’s assistance in various areas of law highlighting it’s positive impact and valuable contribution to intricate legal tasks. However, it primarily focuses on its use for the constitutional interpretation and the significance of language in legal understanding.
- Potential of Language Models in Legal Interpretation :
“The recent progress in artificial intelligence, particularly in natural language processing, has provided new opportunities to address these challenges. Large language models (LLMs) have demonstrated impressive capabilities in processing and generating human-like text, making them valuable tools for enhancing legal education and public information. Ongoing research highlights a growing trend toward utilizing LLMs to develop interactive platforms capable of answering legal inquiries effectively. Several studies have examined the potential of AI to simplify complex legal documents and enhance the functionality of legal chatbots. However, there is a notable gap in dedicated systems specifically designed to assist users in understanding the laws of the Constitution. This project aspires to fill this gap by creating an AI-driven model that assists individuals in navigating constitutional laws while promoting greater legal awareness. By utilizing a user-friendly interface and harnessing the capabilities of LLMs, this system aims to empower users to easily access and comprehend the legal provisions that dictate their rights and responsibilities.”
This study highlights how the development of large language model (LLM) aimed at enriching public understanding of constitutional law can be achieved. This AI driven model simplifies the intricate legal language making it easily accessible to the citizens. The project highlights the capability of LLMs to facilitate legal knowledge and advance awareness of constitutional rights. The project tried to bridge the gap by using methodology including data collection, model training, frontend development and overall system implementation.
- The Advance of AI in Law:
“”NLP technologies enable computers to comprehend and interpret human language. Judges can utilize Natural Language Processing (NLP) to assist with tasks such as summarizing case documents, evaluating legal arguments, and extracting key information from both spoken and written statements. For example, ROSS Intelligence is an AI-powered legal research tool that employs NLP to understand queries in natural language and provide relevant legal insights. Additionally, researchers at IIT Kharagpur have developed an AI-assisted system capable of reading court orders and judgments. This system also integrates machine learning to detect violations of legal provisions. Furthermore, through a collaboration with the Canadian AI platform Kira Systems, the Indian law firm Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas has incorporated AI technology for contract analysis and review” .
This definitely shows the potential of AI to analyze and make decisions in order to simplify the complex legal langauge which is a credible source while applying law and decision making by judges. AI technologies specifically like LLM-GPT-4 have acquired grip on the legal field due to their ability to process enormous amount of data and perform repetitive tasks with unparalleled speed, they can definitely ease the work of judiciary by assiting them to give wider ambit of meaning of words in Constitution that are silent and ambiguous in nature and also to trace the vast number of precedents to refer while interpretation.
- Constitutional Interpretation:
Over the time, Supreme Court has applied various theories and doctrines for interpretation of Constitution. It is discussed below as to how the approach of court changed with evolving time,
- Originalism/Historical: This method emphasizes the original intention of the makers of the constitution.
- Textualism: This method argues that the interpretation should be based on ordinary meaning of text only.
“The A.K. Gopalan v. State of Madras case is a prominent example of textualism in India. In
this case, the Supreme Court gave a narrow and literal interpretation to Article 21 of the
Constitution, refusing to integrate principles of natural justice into the concept of “procedure
established by law.” This decision marked a significant instance where the textualist approach
limited the scope of constitutional interpretation.”
- Living Constitution: The method empasizes the need to interpret the Constitution in light of changing social, economical and political conditions.
- Pragmatism: This method emphasizes the need to interpret the Constitution in a way that achieves practical outcomes.
- Structuralism: This method emphasizes the broader structure and context of the Constitution rather than based on individual clauses or provisions.
- Progressive approach: This method ensures that Constitutional interpretation aligns with contemporary values and realities.
“For example, in Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India, the Supreme Court adopted a liberal
interpretation of Article 21, incorporating the principles of procedural and substantive due
process. This decision expanded the scope of the right to life and personal liberty, introducing
new rights such as privacy and a clean environment. By focusing on the Constitution’s purpose, this approach promotes justice and safeguards the rights and aspirations of the people”.
- Basic structure doctrine: Prevents amendment that alters the fundamental constitutional features.
“Kesavananda Bharati vs State of Kerala (1973): In this case, the Supreme Court established the doctrine of “basic structure,” which held that there are certain fundamental features of the
Constitution that cannot be altered or amended. This decision established that the
Constitution is supreme and not subject to arbitrary changes by the government”.
- Structured and Interpretative Tasks:
It is now important to understand that the language of our Constitution is interpreted with the evolving nature of the society and the rights attached to the individuals in the society therefore, the legal task is argued to be of two types-structured and interpretative. The structured tasks are straightforward and follow rigid framework, but the interpretative tasks involve in-depth analysis, contextual understanding and also considers the societal values, morals and needs.
Therefore, it is argued that the structured tasks can be performed by the AI technologies, but they lack the potential to interpret the legal tasks.
- Case study :
“For example, in the case of Shreya Singahl vs Union of India, here the supreme court explained how the section 66-A of IT Act, 2000 was liable to be sruckdown as it violated the freedom of speech and expression guaranteed by the Constitution of India. The judges had to look into various aspects as to how to interpret the Article 19 (1) (a) in order to examine the implications of the right in the context of online platforms and whether the restrictions imposed by section 66-A was in accordance to the reasonable restrictions mentioned in the Article 19 (2).
Another such example is the case of Puttaswamy v. Union of India, in this case, the Supreme Court of India recognized the right to privacy as a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution. The decision was not merely a technical application of legal rules but a profound interpretation of the Constitution in light of changing societal values, technological advancements, and global human rights standards. The Court had to grapple with complex questions about the role of the
state in the digital age, the impact of surveillance technologies on individual freedoms, and the evolving nature of privacy in a connected world.
Furthermore, various cases like Shayara Bano Case, where the practice of triple talak was struckdown hence, the interpretation had to be done in accordance to the religious, cultural beliefs and also to uphold the Constitutional rights at the same time where, in the case of Navtej Singh Johar, the Supreme Court decriminalized the homosexuality by striking down section 377 of IPC and relied on the societal norms and global human rights”.
These instances emphasize as to how intricate is our legal language and also, the various aspects that need to be seen in order to interpret the Constitution which certainly cannot be performed by the AI.
- Ethical and Legal Concerns of AI:
As it is observed above the use of AI in interpretation of Constitution raises various concerns such as:
- Bias and Fairness:
The use of AI in interpreting the Constitution can lead the judges to be bais in decision making when they will be heavily relied upon the outcomes generated by AI. This can hamper the decision making process and the recent development regarding the use judicial activism in order to solve the contemporary issues.
- Lack of transparency:
AI decision making often lacks the transparency of the information provided which makes it difficult to rely on such unidentified method of formulating information.
- Article 14 and 21 of Constitution:
The above mentioned concerns serve the potential for violation of Article 14 which states the Equality before law, as inherent bias interpretation by the AI can lead to inequality in the decision making process. Whereas, the lack of transparency in the information acquired undermines the procedural aspect of decision making thereby, hindering the significance of Constitution and its interpretation as the language and its interpretation plays a vital role in legal understanding.
- Suggestions:
To enhance the capabilities of AI driven interpretation there is a need to develop specifically trained models that can better understand the Indian legal text, history, context and cultural nuances, this can aid in acquiring a more culturally and authentically accurate contextual outcome. Further, by proposing guidelines for the implementation of AI technology in the interpretation of Constitution relating to elimination of the bias and promoting transparency can help in upholding the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution.
As the AI systems tend to become outdated a regular audit and update of these technologies can certainly help in maintaining integrity and relevancy of these systems. The use of AI in constitutional interpretation needs to be done with human assistance so that the credibility that needs to be achieved is fulfilled and thorough knowledge of these tools should be provided to the legal professionals in order to enhance the efficiency of the legal system to intersect with AI.
- Conclusion:
The intersection of AI into interpretation of language of the Constitution presents both opportunities and challenges. On one hand the AI technologies such as Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Large Language Model (LLM) can offer the potential to acquire efficiency in the legal profession by analyzing large amount of cases, precedents and forming predictive outcomes. These advantages certainly can help mitigate the backlog of cases in the Indian legal system. The tools like SUPACE AND SUVAS are also very useful as Supreme Court initiated the translation of judgements into regional languages across the country.
However, the use of AI in interpreting the Constitution is not without its limitations. The Indian Constitution is a living document that is interpreted by taking into consideration various aspects such as societal needs, beliefs and dynamics. The interpretation is beyond analyzing the facts, case and precedents, due to which the AI lacks the contextual understanding of the interpretation. Hence, to navigate these challenges a balanced approach is required whereby, AI can be used to assist the Court in interpretation rather than interpreting it and giving final outcomes. Ethical guidelines regarding the use of AI should be formed to regulate it and also to enhance the contextual understanding of constitution.
In conclusion, while AI can be used to revolutionize Constitution, it must be implemented cautiously with human assistance. By intersecting the technological rise and interpretative methods we can harness the benefit of AI and also safeguard the morality of our constitution.
Author, Priyanka Mutnale.
Modern Law College, Pune.