Regional Judicial Integrity Meeting for Latin America and the Caribbean
From 6 to 8 August 2024, the Regional Judicial Integrity Meeting for Latin America and the Caribbean took place in Brasilia, Brazil, bringing together judiciaries of the region to explore strategies to strengthen judicial integrity across the region and share good practices and experiences.
The event was organized by UNODC under the umbrella of the Global Judicial Integrity Network, the National High Court of Brazil (STJ) and the Superior Labour Court of Brazil (TST). The meeting also supported the implementation of roadmaps adopted by three Regional Anti-Corruption Platforms for South America and Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, which identify strengthening judicial integrity as one of the priority areas for the region.
Regional Judicial Integrity Meeting for Latin America and the Caribbean
From 6 to 8 August 2024, the Regional Judicial Integrity Meeting for Latin America and the Caribbean took place in Brasilia, Brazil, bringing together judiciaries of the region to explore strategies to strengthen judicial integrity across the region and share good practices and experiences.
The event was organized by UNODC under the umbrella of the Global Judicial Integrity Network, the National High Court of Brazil (STJ) and the Superior Labour Court of Brazil (TST). The meeting also supported the implementation of roadmaps adopted by three Regional Anti-Corruption Platforms for South America and Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, which identify strengthening judicial integrity as one of the priority areas for the region.
Judge Dread: AI and Judicial Integrity
As the wheel of technological innovation spins ever faster, how will the judiciary be affected?
In critical applications of AI, the biggest questions are in how they are made, trained, tested, and used. AI is a field that combines mathematics, statistics, and computer science - often to do incredible things, but by math rather than magic. This is important, because it means that AI doesn't have human motivation: to lie, to obfuscate, to deliberately confuse. However, this also means that AI has no actual level of understanding - of what we hold dear any less than what we discard. AI does not understand the concepts of justice, fairness, or rule of law. It is, however, very good at sounding like it does. This distinction is crucial: applications such as large language models work on vast datasets, applying a probable next word or string of words in completing a sentence. This can result in cases like Avianca, wherein a lawyer asking a large language model (LLM) for relevant cases was given cases which did not exist. While this was something the lawyer could have checked, it brings to mind greater questions of what the use of AI means for the justice system.
Judicial Compliance: A governance model for managing the risk of corruption and ensuring the quality and integrity of the judiciary
Organized crime and corruption, coupled with the temptations of political power to control everything and deprive the public machinery of checks and balances, are identified as the greatest threats to judicial independence and integrity. In response to this challenging situation, the judiciary of Costa Rica has bolstered institutional capabilities and its human resources to counter corruption. It has embraced an institutional model for combating and preventing this issue through Judicial Compliance Initiative.
Judicial compliance encompasses a series of measures endorsed by the senior management of the judiciary, aimed at addressing instances of corruption and organizational fraud. These actions take a risk-based approach, encompassing prevention, identification and response to the phenomenon, ensuring that all activities and personnel actions comply with legal requirements and obligations. Guided by principles of impartiality, objectivity and independence, the objective of judicial compliance is to uphold integrity in decision-making.
Does judicial overload compromise the independence and autonomy of the judges?
There is no discussion or forum on the administration of justice in which judicial independence is not mentioned as a pillar of the constitutional rule of law. It must be preserved against actual or perceived threats from other authorities, particularly the executive branch.
The Constitution of Colombia states that Colombia is a social state based on the rule of law, and that the judiciary is independent. Hence, the judicial branch cannot and should not be subjected to situations of open or concealed interference by the executive branch, economic or armed groups. However, in my judicial experience, some public policies by the executive and legislative branches weaken the independence of the judiciary, without any real redress.