AI Judges and Robotic Justice: Are Pakistani Courts Ready for the Future?

Abstract

The introduction of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into the judicial system has caused a spark that captured the attention of the worldwide community. China has smart courts with the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Estonia is working to use algorithmic judges to adjudicate in small claims cases. The above developments pose important questions regarding what constitutes justice, the morality of adjudicators of different species and the ethics of automation. With the use of AI-based applications to resolve the issue of delays, corruption, and backlog in courts, countries adopt a more resolute discourse on whether AI can/should be used to replace human judges to distribute justice.

The current paper addresses the question of whether or not the Pakistani judicial system is ready on a legal, technological, and ethical level to see the arrival of AI judges and robo justice. Having over two million cases in the Pakistani courts, the proponents state that AI has the potential to enhance efficiency, uniformity, and accessibility. However, there is no developed legal framework of AI regulation, data protection, or judicial automation in Pakistan at present. What is more, such basic constitutional rights as due process and judicial independence bring serious obstacles to the mass use of AI in courtrooms.

Reinforced with the comparative findings of China, Estonia, and the United Kingdom, the work critically looks into the normative validity, theoretical base and practical viability of artificial intelligence in the judicial system. It is also an assessment of the philosophical dilemma of whether machines can possess values like empathy, fairness, and moral reasoning that form the main part of an argument of justice. In the end, the paper provides findings that even though AI has the potential to become the potent assistant in enhancing the work of the court in Pakistan, the fully-autonomous AI judges, however, do not seem fitting with the legal, ethical, and institutional realities in this country. A well poetry tuned change, testing programs, and legislation protection need to be implemented before any shift towards robotic form of justice is implemented.