International Construction Law Review
CONSTRUCTION LITIGATION: HOW CAN THE USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE BY JUDICIAL OFFICERS MAKE IT BETTER?
Joseph Xuereb
Teaching Associate and Research Assistant, Monash University Law Faculty and Associate, MinterEllison
Professor Paula Gerber
Monash University Law Faculty
ABSTRACT
Some construction disputes have become so technically and evidentially complex that the proper determination of them is nearly impossible. Given this state of affairs, it is timely to consider whether there is a role that AI can play in judicial decision-making in large construction cases. Using Australia as a case study, this article explores how AI could be used in three distinct aspects of judicial conduct of construction litigation in Australian courts: namely, legal research, judgment writing and automated decision-making. This analysis demonstrates that there are some ways in which the use of AI by judicial officers can potentially improve the conduct and outcome of construction cases by making decisions more accurate, timely and cost-efficient.
1. INTRODUCTION
“If construction litigation is not perceived as a viable form of dispute resolution, then the construction lists within courts may suffer a similar fate to the dinosaurs.”1
In September 2023, a judge in the Court of Appeal of England and Wales attracted global media attention by describing his enthusiastic use of AI tools to draft parts of his judgments. Lord Justice Colin Birss stated that:
“I asked ChatGPT, ‘can you give me a summary of this area of law’, and it gave me a paragraph. I know what the answer is because I was about to write a paragraph that said that, but it did it for me and I put it in my judgment. It’s there and it’s jolly
Pt 1] Construction Litigation: Use of Artificial Intelligence
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