TL;DR:
- CJI Chandrachud calls for judges to embrace technology for the benefit of litigants
- Implores High Courts to continue using technology for hybrid hearings
- Urges judges to retrain themselves to avoid overburdening lawyers due to their discomfort with technology
- Requests Chief Justices to refrain from dismantling infrastructure for virtual hearings
- Inaugurated a neutral citation system and presented the vision of creating paperless and virtual courts over the cloud
- Stresses the need for a centralized cloud infrastructure for live streaming and new court hardware
- Emphasizes the importance of regulating social media and live-streaming of court proceedings
- Acknowledges the potential of AI tools while stressing judges’ discretion in areas such as sentencing policy
- The recent launch of a new version of the top court’s e-filing portal for crowd testing
- The top court exists for the entire country, and that technology must benefit litigants
Main AI News:
DY Chandrachud, the Chief Justice of India, has been at the forefront of urging judges to embrace technology to benefit litigants. During his address at the National Conference on Digitisation held in Odisha, he implored High Courts to continue using hybrid hearings and not to disband video conferencing systems, which were implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic.
CJI Chandrachud stressed the importance of judges retraining themselves to avoid overburdening lawyers due to their discomfort with technology. He mentioned that in a judgment he was editing the previous night, he had emphasized that lawyers should not be overburdened because judges are not comfortable with technology. He added that the solution to this is straightforward – judges need to retrain themselves.
The CJI also touched upon his recent correspondence with Chief Justices to allow lawyers to appear virtually. He added that some High Courts have disbanded video conference systems despite having the infrastructure in place, which has resulted in numerous PILs from lawyers in India stating that hybrid hearings have been discontinued. Therefore, he requested the Chief Justices to refrain from dismantling the infrastructure.
Moreover, CJI Chandrachud inaugurated a neutral citation system and presented his vision of creating paperless and virtual courts over the cloud. However, he also addressed the issue of regulating social media and live-streaming of court proceedings, citing incidents such as video clips of a judge in Patna High Court questioning an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer for their inappropriate attire in court.
To address these challenges, he emphasized the need for a centralized cloud infrastructure for live streaming and new court hardware. While acknowledging the possibilities of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, he also stressed that judges’ discretion is still necessary, particularly in areas such as sentencing policy.
“We do not think we want to cede our discretion, which we exercise on sound judicial lines in terms of sentencing policy. At the same time, AI is replete with possibilities, and is it possible for the Supreme Court to have a record of 10,000 or 15,000 pages? How do you expect a judge to digest documents of 15,000 pages, which comes with a statutory appeal?” Bar and Bench quoted him as saying.
The top court’s recent launch of a new version of its e-filing portal for crowd testing is another step towards the centralization of cloud infrastructure for live streaming. The CJI emphasized that the top court exists for the entire country and that technology must benefit litigants. He also flagged recent incidents resulting from the live-streaming of proceedings, making it clear that it is imperative to regulate social media’s connection with live streaming, requiring a centralized cloud infrastructure for live streaming, as well as new court hardware.
Overall, CJI Chandrachud’s call for judges to embrace technology for the benefit of litigants is a timely reminder that technology has the power to transform the justice system in India. His vision of paperless and virtual courts over the cloud is ambitious, but the benefits of such a system could be transformative for millions of litigants in India. The top court’s efforts towards the centralization of cloud infrastructure for live streaming are an important step towards this goal.
Conlcusion:
The emphasis placed by CJI Chandrachud on embracing technology and the potential benefits of AI tools in the justice system has significant implications for the legal market in India. The call to retrain judges and ensure the continuation of virtual infrastructure highlights the importance of adapting to new technologies and providing efficient and accessible legal services to clients.
The vision of paperless and virtual courts over the cloud is an ambitious but transformative goal that has the potential to revolutionize the justice system in India, providing greater access and transparency to the legal process. These efforts toward centralization and digitalization will lead to a more efficient, cost-effective and transparent legal market.
