Editor’s Note: The Fourth Seminar of the International Commercial Expert Committee of the Supreme People’s Court and Reappointment (New appointment) Ceremony of Expert Members was held successfully on September 25, 2024. Over 40 experts from more than 20 countries and regions focused on the theme of the “Collaborative Dialogue, Diverse Integration, Peaceful Development” during the seminar. Extensive and in-depth discussions were held within the framework of four specific issues. The texts of speeches delivered by the members of expert committee and distinguished guests during the discussion session on Topic Four Innovation in digital era: AI’s application in dispute resolution and its outlook would be posted on the CICC’s website.

Application and Practice of Artificial Intelligence in the Judicial Field

SUN Fuhui

Director of the Information Technology Service Centre of the SPC

Distinguished Presidents, Chief Justices, Judges, Ladies and Gentlemen, Experts and Friends:

I am very pleased to engage with you in discussions on the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in the judicial field.

In recent years, Chinese courts have deeply integrated information technology with judicial work, focusing on the theme of “justice and efficiency” to advance the modernization of judicial processes.

The application of AI technology requires that rules keep pace, or even lead. The Supreme People’s Court of China has issued the Opinions on Regulating and Strengthening the Application of Artificial Intelligence in Judicial Fields, which addresses concerns such as fairness, safety, and ethics. It proposes five fundamental principles for the judicial application of AI, emphasizing the concept of ethical rules leading the way, to ensure that technology is used for the good of society.

AI technology is already widely applied in areas such as dispute resolution and case enforcement.

For instance, in handling public correspondence, in addition to traditional technologies like scanning and OCR, we utilize large models to automatically filter duplicate letters and generate summaries, significantly improving the efficiency of letter registration.

In another example, when judges are reviewing cases, the case management system provides them with automatically categorized and cataloged electronic files, analyzes these files, and offers visual profiles of the parties and cases. It also suggests similar cases and legal provisions, assisting judges in case analysis and document drafting, reducing administrative workload by over 30%.

Furthermore, during document delivery, we have implemented immediate electronic document storage and verification, allowing courts at all levels to use a unified electronic delivery platform and a judicial blockchain platform for online verification, thus ensuring the authority of every electronic judicial document in the digital era.

To efficiently support the online resolution of international commercial disputes, Chinese courts have established a “one-stop” diversified dispute resolution platform for international commercial disputes. This platform is connected with 10 international commercial arbitration institutions and two international mediation institutions, supporting a “one-stop” mechanism that integrates litigation, mediation, and arbitration.

The platform consolidates resources for judicial, arbitration, and mediation services, offering parties efficient, convenient, and low-cost methods for resolving disputes. Once parties log into the platform, they can choose from multiple dispute resolution options, including mediation services, arbitration services, litigation services, and auxiliary services (such as case scheduling and neutral evaluation). The platform supports the entire dispute resolution process online, including document submission, online mediation, online trials, and electronic document delivery, reducing the need for parties to travel.

AI and other information technologies assist in the intelligent handling of the entire dispute resolution process, offering services such as foreign law verification, automatic information input, automatic generation of records, conflict-free case scheduling, intelligent document drafting, error correction, and the recommendation of relevant international legal cases and regulations. These intelligent services significantly improve the efficiency of handling international commercial cases.

[Looking Ahead] In the future, Chinese courts will continue to seize opportunities brought by new technologies, strengthen exchanges and cooperation with all parties in attendance, and further improve and optimize the “one-stop” international commercial dispute resolution platform, providing more just, efficient, and convenient services for the resolution of international commercial disputes.

Thank you all!