Colombia’s Constitutional Court has issued a ruling ordering the Superior Council of the Judiciary to create a guide or manual on the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in trials. This decision is based on judgment T-323 of 2024, which refers to the use of AI by judges in the resolution of cases.
The case in point:
The case involves a woman who sued her health insurance to be exempted from paying co-pays for her son’s treatments with autism. The municipal court admitted the action and the circuit court confirmed the sentence. In the second instance resolution, the magistrate used generative AI, specifically the ChatGPT system, to expand the arguments of his decision.
The sentence:
The judgment considered it relevant to review a possible violation of the fundamental right to due process due to the process in the issuance of the decision. It was questioned whether generative AI replaced the judge and whether the decision was duly motivated. The ruling concluded that there was no replacement of the exercise of the jurisdictional function by the AI, since the system was used after the judge had substantiated and made the decision.
The Guide:
The ruling orders the Superior Council of the Judiciary to create a guide or manual on the use of generative AI in the Judicial Branch, especially regarding the use of the ChatGPT tool. The guide must be in accordance with the aspects established in the judgment and must include principles of transparency, responsibility, privacy, non-substitution of human rationality, seriousness and verification, risk prevention, equality and equity, human control, ethical regulation, adaptation to good practices and collective standards, continuous monitoring and adaptation and suitability.
We can conclude that the ruling is an important step towards the implementation of generative AI in the Colombian justice system. However, it is essential that the principles of transparency, accountability and privacy are complied with in order to guarantee the fundamental rights of the parties involved.
