The Judiciary of Trinidad and Tobago has issued a new Practice Direction on the Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI), establishing a framework for the responsible and ethical use of AI in court proceedings.
Issued by Chief Justice Ronnie Boodoosingh on July 7th 2026, the Practice Direction took
effect on July 8th, 2026, and was published in the Trinidad and Tobago Gazette on July 9th 2026.
It provides guidance for judicial officers, attorneys-at-law, litigants, witnesses, experts
and other court users on the appropriate use of generative AI within the justice system.
The Practice Direction supports the Judiciary’s ongoing efforts to modernise the
administration of justice while ensuring that judicial decision-making remains grounded in
human judgment, professional ethics, fairness and accountability.
Recognising both the opportunities and risks presented by rapidly evolving AI technologies,
the Practice Direction addresses concerns such as fabricated legal authorities, inaccurate
citations, bias, confidentiality risks and the misuse of AI-generated content in court filings.
Among its key provisions, the Practice Direction:
- affirms that court proceedings must remain human-controlled and that AI cannot replace
independent legal or judicial judgment; - permits the limited use of AI for drafting and administrative purposes, subject to verification
of all facts, authorities and legal citations; - prohibits the use of AI to generate evidence, including affidavits and witness statements,
except for limited formatting and language assistance; - requires disclosure whenever AI has been used in preparing court documents, including
certification of the AI tool used and confirmation that all legal authorities have been
independently verified - restricts the use of AI by judicial officers to administrative and research functions and
- prohibits its use in judicial reasoning or drafting judgments; and
- empowers the Court to require additional disclosure and impose sanctions where AI is
misused in court proceedings.
Recently commenting on the role of artificial intelligence in the justice system, Chief Justice
Ronnie Boodoosingh stated:
“We should not wish AI to be deciding cases for us… It can provide useful data for us to
make human decisions.”
He further noted:
“The question is not whether AI should be used, but how can we responsibly use AI as
a tool to assist us in making the human judgments that we need to make?”