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Guidelines on the use of generative AI by courts and tribunals (CEPEJ(2025)18Final)

European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice, Council of Europe

last revised 2025-12-19last verified 2026-09-031 versioncountry page →

GuidanceIn forceDisclosureVerification dutyConfidentiality

map categories:Judges' use of AIAI barred from deciding casesCourts' own AI deploymentDuty to verify AI outputClient data in AI toolsDisclosure of AI use in filingsData protection and legal AI

Guidelines adopted 19 December 2025 by the Council of Europe's CEPEJ for courts and tribunals in its 46 member states on using generative AI. Judicial use must be transparent, AI output can never bind a judge, the right to a human judge is guaranteed, and confidential case data must be protected. They replace the February 2024 information note.

Applies to
judges, court-staff
Effective
19 Dec 2025
Current version
Final · 19 Dec 2025
Last verified
03 Sept 2026
Official text
rm.coe.int/cepej-2025-18final-en-draft-guidelines-on-the-use-of-genera…

What the document requires

  • A human judge must always take the decision; generative AI output is never binding.
  • Judicial use of generative AI should be transparent to parties where it affects proceedings.
  • Confidential and personal data in case files must not be entered into unsecured tools.
  • Outputs must be verified for accuracy before any reliance.

Version history

VersionDateWhat changedSource
Finalcurrent2025-12-19First version recorded.official

Sources

Cite this record

SafeLegalAI Legal AI Regulation Tracker, "Guidelines on the use of generative AI by courts and tribunals (CEPEJ(2025)18Final)" (European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice, Council of Europe, Final, 2025-12-19), safelegalai.com/regulation/international/cepej-guidelines-generative-ai-courts (accessed 2026-09-04). Data: CC BY 4.0.

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