1. Introduction. – 2. On Judicial Independence: Foundational Principles. – 3. Historical Evolution of Judicial Independence. – 4. Judicial Independence in the European Legal Landscape. – 5. The AI Act and Risks to Judicial Independence. – 6. Human Rights Implications of AI in Judicial Systems. – 7. Contemporary Issues: The UN Report on AI in Judicial Systems. – 8. AI in the Courtroom: Emerging Issues. – 9. The stress on Judicial Independence in the AI era. – 10. Balancing Independence and Evaluation. – 11. The Case for Institutional Control of AI in Justice. – 12. Redefining Independence for the Algorithmic Age. – 13. The Evolving Role of the Judge: From Adjudicator to Manager and Auditor. – 14. The Inequality Risk. – 15. Bias Amplification and the Erosion of Due Process. – 16. Psychological Dimensions: Overreliance on AI. – 17. The Rule of Law and Algorithmic Consistency. – 18. The Managerial Judge in the Digital Era. – 19. New Public Management: AI as a Managerial Reform Tool. – 20. Control Over AI Implementation: The Core of Independence. – 21. Dataset Development and Control: of Paramount Importance. – 22. Reworking Biased Datasets in Judicial AI Systems. – 23. Liability for Faulty Dataset. – 24. Reassessing Cases Judged Under a Faulty Dataset. – 25. Canadian Judicial Council Guidelines: A Model Approach. – 26. Conclusion: Towards Algorithmic Sovereignty.
Judicial independence, long seen as a cornerstone of democratic governance and the rule of law, is facing new conceptual and practical challenges in the era of artificial intelligence (AI). This academic analysis examines the history of the principle of judicial independence, its embedding in European and international law, and the current impact of AI on judicial discretion, institutional autonomy, and legitimacy. It argues that, while artificial intelligence offers unprecedented opportunities for efficiency and consistency, it also raises concerns about transparency, accountability, and the erosion of judicial autonomy.
The analysis of the impact of AI on judicial independence highlights the need for judges to become AI-literate, the inevitable shift in their role from sole adjudication of cases to management, and, in particular, the importance of maintaining control over the implementation of AI in judicial systems and of developing relevant datasets. The integration of artificial intelligence will not be uniform across the judiciary, as differences arise from judges' varying levels of technological literacy and the complexity of the cases they handle.