On April 23, Deng Xiuming, vice-president of China’s Supreme People’s Court (SPC), delivered a speech on the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in judiciary at the 20th Meeting of Chief Justices of Supreme Courts of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Member States, which was held in Hangzhou, East China’s Zhejiang province. 

Deng emphasized that Chinese courts have actively advanced the development of smart courts. Courts across the country are accelerating the high-quality development of judicial work in the new era, by leveraging scientific and technological innovation, particularly big data and AI.

By building interconnected court networks, a unified data platform, and AI-powered tools, Chinese courts have advanced digital transformation and made judicial services more efficient, transparent, and accessible, according to Deng.

While technology plays an increasingly important role in supporting judges, Deng stressed that human judges remain solely responsible for legal decisions, ensuring ethical and legal boundaries are upheld.

Deng also called for deeper international cooperation in applying AI in the justice system, expressing China’s willingness to work with courts of SCO member states to advance legal innovation, improve public service delivery, and promote global rule of law development.

The discussion session was chaired by Gao Xiaoli, vice-president of SPC, with senior members of the judiciary from India, Iran, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Kazakhstan making remarks about the application of AI in their respective judicial systems.