THE Supreme Court yesterday said it will establish a framework to govern the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the Judiciary to ensure the responsible integration of AI across various areas of court operations and management.
Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen said the framework will “provide standards for using AI in court administration, such as human resource, finance, and security, as well as in legal research, document analysis, courtroom applications, and case management.”
Leonen said the AI framework is a key step toward modernizing the judiciary systems and workflows in step with the SC’s Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations 2022-2027 (SPIJ).
Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo earlier said the High Court is actively exploring AI’s potential to enhance judicial efficiency and accuracy.
Gesmundo said AI has a significant potential to assist judges in streamlining administrative tasks, expediting legal research, and predicting judicial outcomes.
Citing examples from foreign jurisdictions, he noted that AI is already being used in courts to examine evidence and prepare case files.
Gesmundo stressed that AI should support judicial efficiency and never replace the human elements of justice.
The SC has started the pilot testing of AI technologies, including voice-to-text transcription software for court stenographers in the Sandiganbayan and select first-and second-level courts.
In addition, several offices within the SC are already trialing AI-enhanced platforms designed to streamline legal research.
Leonen said the SC has not yet fully implemented any AI systems.
“The Judiciary remains in the process of digitizing its procedures, mapping processes, and carefully evaluating which AI applications will be scalable for a broader rollout. While the Court is aware of advanced AI tools such as GPT, it has yet to adopt these technologies,’ he added.
Leonen said the coming AI governance framework will incorporate ethical guidelines for AI deployment, focusing on core principles such as reliability, transparency, accountability, fairness and non-discrimination, privacy and data protection, human agency and oversight, security and safety, societal benefit, sustainability and continuous monitoring.
Last September, Court Administrator Raul Villanueva told the Senate during the hearing on the Judiciary’s 2025 budget that the SC is looking into using AI to speed up the drafting of decisions and improve operations in the judiciary, adding that the High Court was already developing voice-to-text transcription.
Villanueva said they are using AI to monitor cases and for research.
