CLLS Litigation Committee and AI Committee consultation response on use of AI for preparing court documents - April 2026

The Committes favour a principles-based approach to AI in court documents, rather than AI-specific rules that may quickly become outdated.

They support relying on existing professional responsibility requirements for statements of case, skeleton arguments and similar documents, and opposes mandatory declarations that AI was used.

For witness statements, they say current CPR, PD57AC and professional conduct rules already guard against misuse, though AI should not be used to alter or generate a witness’s substantive evidence.

The Committes are cautious about AI translation without human oversight due to accountability, confidentiality and accuracy risks, and suggest expert reports should explain methodology where software tools are used for technical or scientific tests.