Can AI Revolutionise India's Judicial System?

Context: Recently, Artificial Intelligence Committee constituted by Supreme Court identified applications of AI in Indian judiciary.

• To explore the use of AI in judicial domain, the Supreme Court of India has constituted Artificial Intelligence Committee.
• The committee has mainly identified application of AI technology in Translation of judicial documents; Legal research assistance and Process automation.

e-Courts

• The e-courts Integrated Mission Mode Project is one of the National e- Governance projects being implemented in District and Subordinate Courts.
• It is a Pan-India Project, monitored and funded by Department of Justice, Ministry of Law and Justice.

Aim

• To provide the necessary hardware and software application to enable courts to deliver e-services, and the judiciary to be able to monitor and manage the functioning of courts.

Objectives

• To provide designated services to litigants, lawyers and the judiciary by universal computerization of district and subordinate courts.

The e-Courts initiative has so far been divided into three phases:
Phase I

• It was primarily concerned with hardware installation, or the computerization of the courts
• Objective: To extend specialized services to litigants, advocates, and the judiciary by computerizing all district and subordinate courts.

Phase II

• The main aim of Phase II was the betterment of software of the digital infrastructure.

Phase III

• The implementation of Phase III is yet to begin.
• The primary goal is to establish an “ecosystem” model in which systems interact with one another.
• The document proposes a digital case registry, a database of case laws, intelligent scheduling, a digital case management framework, e-filing, and open digital proceedings.

Machine Learning based application in Indian Judiciary
Supreme Court Vidhik Anuvaad Software (SUVAS)

• It is an indigenously engineered neural translation tool.
• It is a language learning application.
• It was launched by the Supreme Court of India.
• Objective: To translate judicial orders and rulings from English to vernacular languages faster and efficiently.

SUPACE

• Supreme Court Portal for Assistance in Court's Efficiency (SUPACE) is an AI driven portal.
• The portal was launched by the Supreme Court of India.
• It can draft a legal brief.
• Objective: To leverage machine learning to deal with huge chunks of case data.

Role

• The role of AI will be limited to the collection and analysis of data.
• It will not be used in decision-making.

Other Initiatives
SCI-Interact

• In 2020, the Supreme Court developed a software to make all its 17 benches paperless.
• This software helps judges access files, annexures to petitions and make notes on computers.

LIMBS or Legal Information Management & Briefing System

• Introduced by Ministry of Law and Justice, the application can monitor cases from high courts and tribunals uploaded by the concerned Commissionerates.
• Objective: To track the entire life cycle of a case efficiently.