Judges, public officials and academics discussed how artificial intelligence can support judicial work while protecting fundamental rights, judicial independence and equality before the law during a two-day workshop in Ankara.
The workshop on "Artificial Intelligence in Judicial Practice" was held in co-operation with the Justice Academy of Türkiye. It brought together 54 participants, including representatives from the Turkish Constitutional Court (TCC), the Court of Cassation, the Council of State, the Council of Judges and Prosecutors, the Ministry of Justice, the Presidency's Cybersecurity Directorate, and leading academics from Turkish law faculties.
The event was opened by the Deputy Head of the Council of Europe Programme Office in Ankara and the President of the Justice Academy of Türkiye, both of whom underlined the growing importance of addressing the legal and ethical dimensions of artificial intelligence (AI) in judicial systems.
The programme was structured around four thematic sessions:
- General Framework and Conceptual Approaches, covering key concepts, model typologies, and the relationship between ethics and law in AI applications in the judiciary,
- Legal Infrastructure and Legislation, addressing international legal frameworks, constitutional limits, the case law of the TCC and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), confidentiality of judicial data, judicial independence, algorithmic discrimination, and liability regimes under private, criminal, and administrative law,
- Application Areas and Models, examining the use of AI in civil litigation, enforcement proceedings, criminal proceedings, legal research, and alternative dispute resolution,
- Comparative Law and Country Experiences, exploring AI governance in judicial systems in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Estonia's e-justice model.
The workshop addressed the use of AI in the judiciary within the broader human rights framework, drawing on the case law of both the TCC and the ECtHR and taking into account the Council of Europe Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law as a reference point for ensuring that AI systems used in judicial contexts remain compatible with fundamental rights guarantees. The provisions of the European Union AI Act on high-risk systems and prohibited applications in the justice sector were also examined.
The two-day workshop provided a platform for academics, legal professionals, and public officials to discuss the opportunities and challenges of integrating AI tools into judicial processes, with particular attention to safeguarding judicial independence, ensuring equality before the law, and maintaining the accountability of automated decision-making systems. Overall, the workshop promoted dialogue among public institutions and legal professionals on emerging issues at the intersection of technology and fundamental rights.
The Joint Project on "Supporting the Effective Implementation of Turkish Constitutional Court Judgments in the Field of Fundamental Rights" is co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe. The Turkish Constitutional Court is the end beneficiary of the Project.
