Lawyers Weekly Australia
The NSW Supreme Court outlawed certain uses of generative artificial intelligence in courtrooms to prevent inaccuracies and “laziness” from entering the legal profession, Chief Justice Andrew Bell has said.
From the start of 2025’s first law term, legal practitioners caught using generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in affidavits, witness statements, and other evidentiary documents could be held in contempt of court and will have the material tossed out.
During a briefing on the court’s new practice note, introduced late last month, Chief Justice Bell said he was most concerned with ensuring that “hallucinations” – being the generation of apparently plausible but inaccurate references – are kept out of courtrooms.
“We simply can’t have inaccuracy, and dare I say laziness, enter the profession. It is not satisfactory, and it won’t be tolerated by the Supreme Court,” Chief Justice Bell said on Monday (2 December).
“Judges are entitled to expect counsel and solicitor advocates to only present cases [that] are relevant and in fact exist, so we’re making no apologies for that, and I don’t think anyone should think we should.”
