China has made the greatest strides in the use of artificial intelligence in the judicial process, becoming the first country in the world to integrate artificial intelligence into its legal system.
In the People’s Republic of China, artificial intelligence algorithms have been used in court proceedings since 2017. In December 2019, China announced that the first million cases had been resolved by “online courts.” Chinese online courts handle various digital disputes (digital matters), including disputes concerning intellectual property, e-commerce, financial disputes related to online activities, loans, domain name issues, property matters, and civil cases involving the Internet, as well as product liability arising from online purchases. In Beijing, the average time to hear a case is 40 days, and the average hearing lasts 37 minutes. Nearly 80% of the parties to proceedings before Chinese internet courts are individuals, while 20% are corporate entities; 98% of the rulings became final without the parties exercising their right to appeal. The online court system in China operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. According to the resolution adopted by the National People’s Congress in March 2021, 14. Under a five-year plan, Chinese courts will transition to fourth-generation smart courts by 2025 (smart courts). The Chinese judicial system has begun using blockchain technology. Blockchain technology plays a key role in securing or documenting digital evidence, especially in cases involving intellectual property rights. In the past, documenting evidence in cases such as copyright infringement required the services of a notary, as such evidence can be easily deleted if not properly documented.
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is defined as a decentralized ledger of data that is securely shared. Blockchain technology enables a group of selected participants to share data. Thanks to cloud-based blockchain services, transaction data from multiple sources can be easily collected, integrated, and shared. The data is divided into shared blocks, linked with unique identifiers in the form of cryptographic hashes.
Blockchain ensures data integrity with a single source of truth, eliminating data duplication and enhancing security.
Algorithms that analyze evidence, virtual courts, and robots that provide legal advice are already commonplace in China. At the West Lake Court in Hangzhou—considered the most technologically advanced court in China—robots that offer legal assistance to the public and virtual courtrooms are used on a daily basis. Court reporters, meanwhile, have been replaced by a speech recognition system that identifies the voice of each participant during a hearing and automatically “transcribes” the proceedings. Robots providing legal advice are also used, for example, at the Beijing People’s Court, where—drawing on a database of approximately 40,000 questions—they provide answers regarding the legal status and current procedural situation of the parties in a given case. Furthermore, Beijing and Guangzhou currently have some of the most advanced online courts, where virtual hearings are conducted and documents submitted online are verified using blockchain technology.
AI in the Justice System by 2025
In China, the use of AI technology began with the application of solutions for so-called “non-adjudicative cases.” In 2017, the Supreme People’s Court issued an opinion requiring courts to use big data and artificial intelligence technologies to minimize the workload associated with non-adjudicative cases. In 2018, the Supreme Court issued a directive calling on courts to disclose information about proceedings online. In 2021, courts in Shenzhen launched a paperless office. Even court hearings have moved online, and parties and attorneys are no longer required to submit any paper documents.
Chinese courts are required to develop a robust artificial intelligence system by 2025 to ensure comprehensive AI support for efforts to improve legal services and uphold the administration of justice.
This requirement and objective are set forth in the opinions on regulating and strengthening the use of artificial intelligence in the judiciary—that is, the guidelines issued in December 2022 by the Supreme People’s Court (China’s highest court).
The document also calls on Chinese courts to develop applications and a theoretical framework for the use of artificial intelligence in the judicial system and to improve regulations by 2030 to ensure that the technology can support the entire judicial process.
The Supreme Court stated that its aim in issuing these guidelines is to promote the in-depth integration of artificial intelligence into the work of the judiciary, to strengthen the development of smart courts, and to strive to achieve a higher level of digital justice.
In its legal ruling, the court emphasized the legality of using artificial intelligence in judicial matters and the security that this technology provides. It ruled that the promotion and use of this technology must not jeopardize national security, violate state secrets, or compromise the security of personal data.
It also emphasizes that rulings must always be issued by judges, which means that artificial intelligence cannot replace courts in adjudicating cases. It explains that the results of applying this technology can serve as additional points of reference in judicial oversight and management.
The Supreme Court stated that expanding the use of artificial intelligence in the judicial system will not only help judges reduce the burden of handling trivial cases and improve the efficiency of their work, but will also provide the public with easier access to legal resources for more effective dispute resolution.
In addition, the AI application will automatically identify irregularities in case management in order to standardize judges’ procedures.
Over the past decade, courts across the country have become “smarter,” stepping up their efforts to adopt advanced technologies.
Supreme Court statistics showed that by October 2022, more than 90,000 mediation institutions and more than 350,000 mediators had joined the platform designed by the Supreme Court to help disputing parties resolve their disputes online by September.
Thanks to these efforts, the parties to a dispute do not have to go to court to file documents, pursue cases, or attend hearings. For example, last year (2022), Chinese courts filed more than 11.43 million cases online.
However, Xu Jianfeng, director of the Information Center of the Chinese Supreme People’s Court, stated that courts across the country should continue to ensure the security of legal and personal data while providing greater convenience to residents seeking court services.
In China, the resolution of legal issues has been partially entrusted to artificial intelligence. Chinese courts use it to assist in making rulings. A program called Xiao Zhi 3.0, or “Little Wisdom,” initially helped with cases involving bank loans. Currently, the technology is used to record testimony with voice recognition, analyze case materials, and verify information from databases in real time. The technology has also been applied to resolving disputes involving traffic accidents, where AI examined the evidence and generated rulings, saving the judge time. This tool makes the Chinese justice system significantly faster. There are various AI algorithms known as the Xiao Baogong Intelligent Sentencing Prediction System, which can suggest sentences to judges and prosecutors based on big data analysis of case information and previous rulings in similar cases, all with the aim of ensuring consistency in judicial decisions.
