Japan’s top court to test use of AI in civil trials

Japan's Supreme Court will test generative AI in civil trials in fiscal 2027, allocating ¥60 million in its first budget request for AI-related expenses. The court will use records of settled lawsuits to create rough drafts of summaries and lists of points of contention, while developing safeguards to prevent data leakage. A preliminary test by six judges from Tokyo and Osaka district courts found AI could help but also reinforce biases, leading to the conclusion that AI should assist judges, not replace them.

The Supreme Court plans to examine in the next fiscal year whether generative artificial intelligence AI can be used in civil trials. On Monday, the top court announced its budget request for fiscal 2027, which included some ¥60 million for expenses related to the use of AI. This is the court’s first budget request including such expenses. According to the Supreme Court, records of settled lawsuits will be used in a demonstration test on AI use. Judges and other officials will input documents into an AI system to create, for example, rough drafts of record summaries and lists of points of contention. The court will also develop a system to prevent the leakage of personal information about parties to lawsuits and companies’ trade secrets. In January and February this year, a research group of six midcareer judges from the Tokyo and Osaka district courts conducted a test based on mock trial records. Through the test, the group found that, while AI could be helpful in creating summaries and organizing points of contention, it could also reinforce judges’ biases by omitting important facts and points of contention and providing plausible yet incorrect answers. The group concluded that AI should be positioned as an assistant to judges. As prolonged civil trials have become a problem in recent years, Masayuki Nagata, a senior official at the Supreme Court’s digital policy planning office, said, “Using AI is expected to streamline and shorten trials further.” “We hope to present the results of the demonstration test within the next fiscal year,” Nagata added. The Supreme Court’s budget request also included about ¥38.7 billion for expenses related to the digitalization of trial procedures, including for criminal and domestic cases.