00:00The Judiciary of Trinidad and Tobago has issued a new practice direction governing the use
00:05of Generative Artificial Intelligence, or AI, in court proceedings.
00:10The directive issued by Chief Justice Ronnie Budusing took effect on July 8 and sets out
00:16rules for judges, attorneys, litigants, witnesses and other court users.
00:22Under the new guidelines, AI may be used for drafting and administrative tasks, but users
00:28must independently verify all facts, legal authorities and citations.
00:33The practice direction also prohibits the use of AI to generate evidence, including affidavits
00:39and witness statements, except for limited formatting or language assistance.
00:44Anyone using AI to prepare court documents must disclose that fact and certify that all
00:50legal references have been independently checked.
00:53The new rule comes just days after High Court Judge Justice Frank C. Persaud and his ruling
00:58dismissing the Hadid family's habeas corpus application challenging their detention under
01:04the state of emergency cautioned against the uncritical use of AI in legal proceedings.
01:12Justice C. Persaud noted that while AI can be a useful research tool, it should never replace
01:17careful legal analysis or independent judicial reasoning, underscoring the need for lawyers
01:23and judges to verify authorities and factual information before relying on them.
01:29Chief Justice Rani Budusing has echoed that approach, saying AI should not be deciding cases,
01:35but can assist courts by providing useful information to support human decision making.
01:41The practice direction also empowers courts to impose sanctions where AI is misused in legal proceedings.
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