Civil Justice Council Publishes Final Report Recommending Mandatory AI Declarations for Witnesses and Experts in English Civil Proceedings
On 29 October 2026, the Civil Justice Council (CJC) published the final report of its working group on the use of artificial intelligence in preparing court documents, making 15 recommendations for civil proceedings in England and Wales. The headline recommendation is a new mandatory declaration regime. Witnesses of fact must declare that any AI used in preparing their statement has not generated or influenced its substantive content, preserving the fundamental principle that witness evidence must be in the witness's own words. Expert witnesses face a parallel obligation, required to declare where AI has generated or influenced the substantive content of their reports and, where necessary, to identify the tools used, so that opposing parties and the court can scrutinise and test the evidence effectively. By contrast, statements of case and skeleton arguments are explicitly excluded from any new declaration requirement: where a legal representative takes professional responsibility by putting their name to the document, no further AI disclosure is needed. The report also confirms that courts should not be able to grant advance permission for AI use, and firms should not be required to notify the court of which specific AI tools they used. The Civil Procedure Rule Committee (CPRC) is asked to draft a new Practice Direction that consolidates and clarifies existing obligations, addresses sanctions for misuse, and adopts a functional, risk-based approach rather than categorising AI tools by type. Primary regulatory responsibility remains with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), the Bar Standards Board (BSB), and the Legal Services Board (LSB), which are collectively urged to develop joint guidance and embed AI ethics into continuing competency training. The incoming Master of the Rolls Sir Colin Birss chaired the working group. The CJC also flagged urgent work needed on guidance for litigants in person using AI, which falls outside the current report but drew strong calls during the consultation process.
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