SUPREME Court Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen said that despite the huge potential of artificial intelligence (AI), its role in the Philippine judiciary should be to assist judges rather than replace them in deciding cases.
“For now, only Scriptix, the judiciary’s voice-to-text transcription application, is authorized for use,” Leonen said during a briefing at the Supreme Court Session Hall in Baguio City.
The event was organized to promote the responsible use of AI among trial court judges, clerks of court, legal researchers, and court stenographers in the Cordillera Administrative Region.
Leonen said the lecture was intended to help members of the judiciary navigate the rapid development of AI technologies by understanding both their capabilities and limitations in court proceedings.
He emphasized that while AI can assist in legal research, scheduling, drafting documents, and data analytics, it cannot adjudicate.
The guidance, he said, is anchored on the Governance Framework on the Use of Human-Centered Augmented Intelligence in the Judiciary, which the Supreme Court approved on Feb. 18, 2026.
The framework supports the objectives of the Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations 2022-2027, which seeks to modernize court operations and improve the administration of justice through technology.
Leonen emphasized the benefits of digital transformation in the judiciary, noting that paper-based court processes often lead to delays, limited public access, and heavy administrative workloads.
Digital systems, he said, can help address many of these longstanding challenges by making court processes more efficient and accessible.
However, Leonen cautioned that digitalization also presents risks. He said limited internet connectivity could exclude some court users, while electronic systems remain vulnerable to tampering and cyberattacks.
He stressed that as the judiciary embraces technological innovation, safeguards must remain in place to ensure that human judgment, accountability, and fairness continue to guide the administration of justice.
