Developments in digital justice appear as real opportunities to improve the quality and efficiency of justice. At the same time, they constitute new challenges for the respect of the fundamental principles of the trial, essential guarantees of our judicial systems, such as the primacy of the rule of law, the independence and impartiality of the judge, the principle of adversarial proceedings or the protection of fundamental freedoms.

The Working Group on Cyberjustice and Artificial Intelligence (CEPEJ-GT-CYBERJUST),  set up by the CEPEJ at its 33rd plenary meeting in December 2019, is entrusted by the CEPEJ with the task of "developing tools with a view to offering a framework and guarantees to member States and legal professionals wishing to create or use Information and Communication Technologies and/or artificial intelligence mechanisms in judicial systems in order to improve the efficiency and quality of justice". This work should be implemented in co-ordination with the work of other Council of Europe bodies in this field, in particular the European Committee on Legal Co-operation (CDCJ) and the Committee on Artificial Intelligence (CAI).

The tools to developed by the Working Group concern topics as varied as quality criteria for videoconferencing, artificial intelligence used in alternative methods of dispute resolution or enforcement of court decisions or court proceedings in a digital context.

The group’s work is guided by the  2022 – 2025 CEPEJ Action plan: “Digitalisation for a better justice”, emphasizing the CEPEJ’s commitment to accompany States and courts in a successful transition towards digitalisation of justice in line with European standards and in particular Article 6 of the European Convention of Human Rights.

 Working Group on Cyberjustice and Artificial Intelligence (CEPEJ-GT-CYBERJUST)

Tools
Artificial Intelligence Advisory Board (AIAB)

The CEPEJ Artificial Intelligence Advisory Body (AIAB) provides expert advice on Artificial Intelligence (AI) related issues in the judicial environment. It was established in 2022 to support the CEPEJ in monitoring the actual emergence of AI applications in the justice sector and to implement related strategies as well as to contribute to the reflection on the use of AI in justice systems with respect to fundamental rights.

Link to AIAB page

Resource Centre on Cyberjustice and AI

The Resource Centre on Cyberjustice and AI serves as a publicly accessible focal point for reliable information on AI systems and other key cyberjustice tools applied in the digital transformation of the judiciary. It shall help to gain an overview of such systems and tools, providing a starting point for further examination on their risks and benefits for professional and end-users in line with the “European ethical Charter on the use of AI in judicial systems and their environment“.

Link to Resource Centre page

European Cyberjustice Network (ECN)

The European Cyberjustice Network (ECN) allows the exchange of good practices and helps to define future initiatives by the Council of Europe to support its member States in the digital transformation of their judiciary in line with Human Rights standards.

Link to ECN page

Ethical Charter on the use of AI in judicial systems

A key tool remains the first European Ethical Charter on the use of artificial intelligence in judicial systems, adopted by the CEPEJ in December 2018. This innovative text, prepared by the CEPEJ Working Group on quality of justice (CEPEJ-GT-QUAL), sets out principles to guide the development of artificial intelligence tools in European judicial systems.

Links:

Assessment Tool for the operationalisation of the European Ethical Charter on the use of artificial intelligence in judicial Systems and their environment (12/2023)

European Ethical Charter on the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Judicial Systems and their environment (12/2018)

Revised roadmap for ensuring an appropriate follow-up of the CEPEJ Ethical Charter on the use of artificial intelligence in judicial systems and their environment (12/2020)

Link to ethical Charter Special file page

 

 

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