Technology and the Judicial Role

Abstract

Technology is often seen as having transformational capacity to improve societal institutions, and the judiciary has not been an exception to this trend. For a number of years, courts around the world have invested in digital uplift projects. Beyond the routine use of technology to improve judicial systems, which is widely accepted and largely self-explanatory, many jurisdictions are increasingly investigating more sophisticated applications. Governments and courts are asking whether and to what extent machine learning techniques and other artificial intelligence applications should play a role in assisting tribunals and judiciary in decision-making. In this Chapter, we ask how these new uses of technology might, in turn, impact judicial values and judges’ own sense of themselves, and even transform the role of judges.

Keywords: Technology, AI, Algorithms, Automation, Automated Decision-Making, Judiciary, Courts, Judges, Judicial Values, Online Courts, Transparency, Accountability, Impartiality, Diversity.