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• Justice Shah stresses technology’s potential to streamline judicial system, reduce delays
• Urges cautious adoption, highlights ethical boundaries • Says fairness must be hardwired into Artificial Intelligence systems
• Insists human dignity must remain central; algorithms can never override mercy
ISLAMABAD: In a landmark judgement, the Supreme Court has emphasised the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to streamline judicial system, reduce delays, improve case management systems and expand legal knowledge — particularly at the district level — but urged a cautious and ethically grounded approach to its integration.
A two-judge bench headed by senior puisne judge Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah recommended that the National Judicial (Policymaking) Committee (NJPMC), in collaboration with the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan (LJCP), develop comprehensive guidelines on the permissible use of AI within the judiciary. These guidelines, the court said, must define clear boundaries to ensure AI remains a facilitative tool and does not undermine judicial independence, constitutional principles or public trust.
The bench also ordered dispatching a copy of the 18-page judgement to the LJCP and NJPMC for preparing guidelines to regulate this emerging intersection of law and Artificial Intelligence, emphasising that AI cannot replicate the moral, ethical and empathic reasoning that lies at the heart of judging.
“Courts must thus pursue a calibrated integration, harnessing AI’s efficiencies without surrendering the conscience, independence and humanity that justice demands,” the judgement said.
The ruling was issued in a rent dispute case, where the Supreme Court overturned a March 2022 judgement by the Lahore High Court. The case had been entangled in litigation for over seven years.
“We stand at the intersection of innovation and tradition,” Justice Shah emphasised, adding that for any justice system to remain fair and just in the age of AI, certain core universal values must be preserved as non-negotiable ethical foundations.
First and foremost, human dignity and compassion must remain central, ensuring that algorithms never override mercy or individualised consideration in judgements. Fairness and anti-discrimination principles must be hardwired into AI systems to prevent the replication of historical biases, guaranteeing equal treatment under the law.
The rule of law must always prevail over the rule of data, with human judges retaining ultimate authority to interpret evolving legal and moral standards, Justice Shah said.
Finally, the system must preserve space for restorative justice and rehabilitation, recognising that punishment should serve societal healing rather than mere efficiency. These principles form the essential guardrails, ensuring that technological advancement enhances rather than diminishes justice, keeping the human element at the heart of legal systems even as AI capabilities grow more sophisticated.
While structural reforms are a must and require continuation with vigour, the present crisis — delays — compels immediate and pragmatic innovation, Justice Shah observed, adding that in Pakistan’s overburdened courts, the integration of AI presents a promising path to operational reform, provided its adoption remains grounded in principled constitutional limits.
Under Articles 10A(2) and 37(d) of the Constitution, the right to fair and expeditious justice must not be rendered illusory, he said. Within this constitutional framework, the thoughtful adoption of AI can serve as a viable instrument for access to timely justice and alleviating systemic backlogs.
Justice Shah observed that commercial genAI platforms like ChatGPT, Copilot and DeepSeek have drawn increasing interest from judges around the world who seek new ways to conduct legal research, drafting and decision support.
In 2023, a Colombian judge announced that ChatGPT was consulted when drafting a judicial ruling. Moreover, appellate judges in Washington, DC, publicly cited ChatGPT in their official opinions.
More recently, a judge in Pakistan revealed using ChatGPT to adjudge a case both in a civil and a criminal matter, triggering a debate whether commercial AI is appropriate for official judgements, Justice Shah observed, adding that the promise and potential of AI to enhance the efficiency and working of the justice system cannot be ignored any longer.
While Justice Shah noted that the use of AI would enhance judicial, institutional, and administrative efficiency, he cautioned that AI would not and must never become a substitute for judicial decision-making.
“The human part of justice lies in its moral and emotional core, the qualities that AI can never replicate (at least today). While AI may process data and identify legal patterns, it lacks the capacity for compassion, ethical discernment, and the nuanced understanding of human suffering,” he added. “Judges, juries, and lawyers bring empathy to their decisions, weighing not just the letter of the law but the spirit of fairness, the context of actions, and the possibility of redemption.”
Most importantly, justice must be seen as legitimate by those it serves, and this legitimacy stems from the belief that a fellow human has truly listened, understood and acted with conscience. “Without these irreplaceable human elements, justice becomes a mechanical exercise, devoid of the very humanity it seeks to protect,” Justice Shah said.
Published in Dawn, April 12th, 2025
