Inaugurating 'AI Governance Summer School 2026', CJ Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury urges regulatory frameworks
Chief Justice Warns Against AI-Generated Court Verdicts
- Judicial conscience and critical reasoning cannot be replaced or automated by AI systems
- Cites UK legal precedent where hallucinated AI citations disrupted judicial accuracy
- Emphasizes framing robust AI governance laws, skill development, and data verification protocols
Emphasizing that judicial conscience and ethical deliberations cannot be automated, Chief Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury stated that Artificial Intelligence (AI) should never be used to draft court verdicts. He delivered the remarks as chief guest at the inaugural session of the 'AI Governance Summer School 2026', hosted at the Asiatic Society Auditorium in Dhaka on Saturday, 29 August 2026.
Drawing on his 23-year judicial tenure, the Chief Justice outlined the core architecture of judicial decision-making: "A verdict rests upon three pillars—the factual matrix of the case, applicable statutory provisions, and the analytical conscience of the judge. Human conscience and moral intellect cannot be automated or governed by algorithmic models. If individuals surrender their cognitive reasoning to machines, their analytical capacities will inevitably decline."
To illustrate systemic technical vulnerabilities and generative hallucinations, he cited a case in the United Kingdom where an AI-generated draft referenced a non-existent case citation. That fictitious precedent was subsequently adopted by several benches before critical legal research uncovered that the ruling never existed, causing substantial institutional embarrassment.
While acknowledging the vast technical potential of AI, the Chief Justice cautioned against unverified algorithmic data dependencies. He urged policymakers to establish structured regulatory frameworks and ethical AI governance guidelines to protect fundamental human rights and prevent technological malpractice, highlighting the parallel need for institutional capacity building and rigorous training.
The session was also addressed by Additional Attorney General Barrister Aneek R. Haque (acting Attorney General) and Dean of the Faculty of Law at Dhaka University Prof. Dr. Muhammad Ekramul Haque, with Deputy Attorney General Barrister Tasnova Shelly presenting the welcome address.
//DBTech/DSTP/MIST//
