Justice Ministry embraces AI to modernize courtroom operations

ANKARA

The Justice Ministry is advancing a suite of AI projects aimed at easing the workload of judiciary staff, improving objectivity in decision-making and streamlining courtroom procedures.

Officials from the ministry briefed the Parliamentary Commission on Artificial Intelligence about nine ongoing and planned AI initiatives, including a speech-to-text program poised to reshape how court proceedings are documented. The project will replace courtroom clerks with AI capable of transcribing spoken words into text.

“The project is still under development. Once operational, it will automate the wrting process for prosecutors, judges and judicial assistants, eliminating the need for manual typing,” Justice Ministry’s IT Director-General Servet Gül explained.

Another key initiative addresses inaccuracies in entering organizational affiliations in public prosecution files. Gül noted that such data gaps previously compromised judicial statistics and oversight reports.

The AI model now cross-references input with registered terrorist organization data, minimizing human error and enhancing data reliability.

The ministry has also deployed an AI system for e-auctions, which instantly identifies offensive or derogatory content in images.

“It warns users in real time and prevents harmful visuals from entering the system. It also reduces visual clutter in auction listings,” Gül said.

Additional projects include AI for scanning screens, predicting case categories, identifying inconsistencies in indictments and providing smart legal assistants.

While some critics question AI’s role in verdicts, Gül clarified, “Decision-making authority remains with the judge. AI will support — not replace — the judiciary, enhancing fairness, consistency and efficiency.”