AI Should Not Be Used to Draft Judgments: Chief Justice

Chief Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury has said that artificial intelligence (AI) should not be used to write court judgments, stressing that judicial decisions must be based on facts, applicable laws and the judge’s own conscience. “From what little I have learned, there is one thing I can say: whatever you do with artificial intelligence or AI, you cannot write a judgment with it. Doing so would be inappropriate,” he said.

The chief justice made the remarks as the chief guest at the opening ceremony of the “AI Governance Summer School 2026” at the Asiatic Society Bangladesh auditorium in the capital on Saturday (August 29). Addressing judges, the chief justice said that, based on his experience, a judgment should be written using three things.
“First, there are the facts– what the case is about. Then you apply the law applicable to those facts. Which law or which provision of the law applies to the particular case? Finally, when you make a decision, there is something that I use and believe every judge should use. That is your conscience,” he said. He said conscience cannot be controlled by AI. “Conscience belongs to the individual. It is something self-motivated; it is your capacity to think. When a person loses the ability to think, I believe that person becomes much smaller as a human being. In a judgment, you have to rely on your own intelligence and conscience, together with the law,” he said.

Citing an example, the chief justice said a court judgment had recently been written with the assistance of AI in England. It was later discovered that the judgment references provided by AI did not actually exist. “So, we have to be cautious about this. We must ensure that the technology is used only for positive purposes and that its misuse is prevented,” he said.

Additional Attorney General Barrister Aneek R. Haque and Dean of the Department of Law at the University of Dhaka Dr. Mohammad Ekramul Haque also spoke at the opening ceremony. Deputy Attorney General Barrister Tasnova Shely delivered the welcome address. She said AI should be used in the context of Bangladesh while ensuring that the technology does not cause the country to forget its history and heritage.