UNESCO to publish “Global toolkit on AI and the rule of law for the judiciary”

UNESCO has published an interim draft of its “Global toolkit on AI and the rule of law for the judiciary”. The toolkit intends to provide judicial operators with the knowledge and tools necessary to understand the benefits and risks of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) in their work. The Toolkit aims at supporting judicial operators in reducing potential human rights risks of AI by offering guidance on the relevant international human rights law instances, principles, regulations, and the emerging case law that underpin the use of AI responsibly.

The Toolkit responds to the UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of AI, adopted by 193 countries in 2021, that recommends “Member States should enhance the capacity of the Judiciary to make decisions related to AI systems as per the rule of law”.

The toolkit aims at enabling judicial operators to:

• Define AI and Algorithmic Decision Making (ADM) and understand them as socio-technical systems.
   
• Understand the key issues related to algorithmic bias and discrimination (such as gender bias, racial bias, and other intersecting forms of biases) and explain why these are important in judicial settings.
   
• Explain AI’s impact on the following fundamental rights: privacy, freedom of expression,  access  to  information,  protection  against  discrimination,  right  to access to court, fair and impartial trials and hearings, and due process of law. 
   
• Examine legal cases related to the use of AI, building upon their knowledge of the recent regulatory initiatives and case law related to algorithmic bias, inappropriate use of algorithms in decision-making.
   
• Apply tools like UNESCO’s Ethical Impact Assessment for understanding the ethical impact of AI systems. 

The Toolkit has four modules that complete a training programme on AI, human rights, and the rule of law for the Judiciary. The Toolkit also provides the necessary knowledge not only for judges but also for other actors involved in the dispute process, including lawyers and arbitrators.
 

• UNESCO "Global toolkit on AI and the rule of law for the judiciary"