Lord Justice Birss Considers AI in Civil Justice: 7 Key Insights

The judiciary has announced significant new appointments to the Court of Appeal, confirming the elevation of six experienced High Court judges. Mrs Justice Sara Cockerill, Mr Justice Ian Dove, Mr Justice Richard Foxton, Mrs Justice Nicola May, Mr Justice Nicholas Miles, and Mrs Justice Julia Yip have all been appointed as Lords and Lady Justices of Appeal.

In addition, and particularly relevant to those interested in AI and technology, Lord Justice Birss was appointed Chancellor of the High Court, effective from 1 November 2025. He succeeds Sir Julian Flaux, who will retire from the role. The announcement further explains his role in AI in civil justice:

“He will bring a wealth of judicial experience to the position, including the valuable contributions that he has made since becoming Deputy Head of Civil Justice and Lead Judge for Artificial Intelligence.”

In a recent speech to Expert Witness Institute (EWI) Annual Conference, he highlighted the importance of Civil Procedure Rule 35 which is designed to keep expert evidence essential and objective. He further addressed common challenges around managing costs, complexity, and effective scrutiny of expert evidence. These are crucial issues for anyone dealing with expert evidence regularly and I would suggest the keynote is read in full.

Housing/property lawyers may be interested in the Online Procedure Rule Committee (OPRC) discussion. Lord Justice Birss explained:

“The first SI has been passed which gives the OPRC a specific remit in property and possession – and work is underway with HMCTS on the new digital system for these cases – but work is also going on to look at how to transform the space before cases come to court, by having a set of overarching principles and promoting interoperability of the systems in that sphere by the use of data standards.”

My AI research tools have gathered some interesting information on the OPRC which I will upload at some point (once I’ve removed all the hallucinations!) 

In the meantime, I've looked closely at Lord Birss's comments on AI and technology and summarised them into seven key questions that are worth exploring further. These include:
1.     What happens when judges/experts use AI who takes responsibility?
2.     Can AI be blamed for mistakes?
3.     Can humans keep up with disclosure obligations or do we need AI?
4.     Must experts disclose AI use?
5.     Should the Civil Procedure Rules be amended to include AI use?
6.     What are the Online Procedure Rule Committee considering with property and possession claims?
7.     What can we expect from the new pilot for digital access to court documents?
 

My full article and analysis can be read here.