Guidance on using AI to prepare for court
Provincial Court of British Columbia · British Columbia
last revised 2026-07-08last verified 2026-09-041 versioncountry page →
country page →GuidanceIn forceVerification dutyDisclosureConfidentiality
map categories:Self-represented litigantsDuty to verify AI outputDisclosure of AI use in filingsData protection and legal AI
Plain-language guidance published by the Provincial Court of British Columbia on 8 July 2026 for lawyers and self-represented litigants. It warns of hallucinated citations, requires independent verification, asks users to hyperlink authorities, requires an honest answer if a judge asks whether AI was used, and cautions against uploading personal information to AI tools.
- Applies to
- lawyers, litigants, parties
- Effective
- See version history
- Current version
- eNews guidance · 08 Jul 2026
- Last verified
- 04 Sept 2026
What the document requires
- Independently verify any AI-produced legal references, statutes and judgments before relying on them.
- Hyperlink cited laws and decisions with section or paragraph references so the judge can check them.
- If a judge asks whether AI assisted in preparing the case, answer honestly; this applies to lawyers and self-represented litigants alike.
- Remove personal details before uploading documents to AI tools, which may retain them.
- Recognises accessibility benefits of AI tools for people with disabilities.
Version history
| Version | Date | What changed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| eNews guidancecurrent | 2026-07-08 | First version recorded. | official |
Sources
Cite this record
SafeLegalAI Legal AI Regulation Tracker, "Guidance on using AI to prepare for court" (Provincial Court of British Columbia, eNews guidance, 2026-07-08), safelegalai.com/regulation/canada/ca-bc-provincial-court-ai-guidance (accessed 2026-09-04). Data: CC BY 4.0.
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