Technology-enabled Justice in Indian Courts: New Dilemmas and Way Forward

Abstract

The adoption of technology in Indian courts has improved and increased the rate of data collection, particularly from court proceedings. Data is now available in accessible formats, making them valuable for developing artificial intelligence-based tools. While the potential for risks and harms from incomplete or biased datasets is known and documented, there are also system-level issues that emerge from this datafication and adoption of advanced technologies in justice delivery systems. They can lead to an over-reliance on quantifiable aspects of the system, hinder the development of legal theory and lead to the commercialisation of case data. With advances in data processing and analytics, earlier open-by-default models for case data need a careful rethink, considering the potential for misuse of personal and sensitive information and commercialisation of publicly available data. Adequate safeguards rooted in a legal basis and built through wide stakeholder deliberation are needed to meet the ends of technology-enabled justice.