Artificial Intelligence (AI) Guidance for Judicial Office Holders Issued in England and Wales

On 31 October 2025, the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary in England and Wales issued updated guidelines for Judicial Officers in dealing with AI.

The guidelines include comments such as follows (at pages 6 -7):

AI chatbots are now being used by unrepresented litigants. They may be the only source of advice or assistance some litigants receive. Litigants rarely have the skills independently to verify legal information provided by AI chatbots and may not be aware that they are prone to error. If it appears an AI chatbot may have been used to prepare submissions or other documents, it is appropriate to inquire about this, ask what checks for accuracy have been undertaken (if any), and inform the litigant that they are responsible for what they put to the court/tribunal. Examples of indications that text has been produced this way are shown below.

AI tools are now being used to produce fake material, including text, images and video. Courts and tribunals have always had to handle forgeries, and allegations of forgery, involving varying levels of sophistication. Judges should be aware of this new possibility and potential challenges posed by deepfake technology.

Another form of fake material of which you must be aware is so called “white text”, which consists of hidden prompts or concealed text inserted into a document so as to be visible to the computer or system but not to the human reader. This possibility underscores the importance of judicial office holders’ personal responsibility for anything produced in their name.

A statement issued by the Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales and the Master of the Rolls (et al) relating to the introduction of the amended guidelines is:

Artificial Intelligence (AI) – Judicial Guidance (October 2025) – Courts and Tribunals Judiciary

The updated guidelines are as follows:

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Guidance for Judicial Office Holders