Karen Eltis
Courts are increasingly being asked to grapple with the challenges artificial intelligence brings as it reshapes legal practice, and academic research is helping to chart the way. The work of Professor Karen Eltis played a role in guiding the Quebec Superior Court's analysis in one of the first cases in the world to raise questions about AI use by judicial decision-makers.

In Association des ressources intermédiaires d'hébergement du Québec (ARIHQ) c. Santé Québec - Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux du Centre-Sud-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, the Superior Court set aside an arbitral award whose reasoning appeared to rest on several non-existent case law and doctrinal references. These references suggested, according to the court, the possible use of artificial intelligence tools.

In examining the risks of AI use in judicial proceedings, the court drew on the Guidelines for the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Canadian Courts of the Canadian Judicial Council, co-authored by Professor Eltis. The court cited this document to affirm that decision-makers cannot delegate their reasoning or drafting to anyone — whether a human assistant or a computer program — in order to preserve the parties' trust and the legitimacy of the judicial process.

That the work of Karen Eltis is cited in one of the first decisions in the world on the use of artificial intelligence by judicial decision-makers speaks to the relevance and impact of research conducted at the Civil Law Section on the evolution of law.