Practice Note SC 23 (Link to Supreme Court NSW)
Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI)
With thanks to Justine Anderson for drawing attention to NSW Supreme Court Practice Note SC 23, issued today with a view to commencement on 3 February 2025. Associated amendments to the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules will also come into force at that time. Due to the rapidly developing nature of Gen AI, this Practice Note will be periodically reviewed.
Paragraph 13 of the practice note states that an affidavit, witness statement or character reference must contain a disclosure that Gen AI was not used in generating: (a) its content (including by way of altering, embellishing, strengthening or diluting or rephrasing a witness’s evidence); or (b) subject to leave having been obtained …, the content of any annexure or exhibit prepared by the deponent of the affidavit or witness statement or character reference for the purposes of his or her evidence.
Where Gen AI has been used in the preparation of written submissions or summaries or skeletons of argument, the author must verify in the body of the submissions, summaries or skeleton, that all citations, legal and academic
authority and case law and legislative references: (a) exist, (b) are accurate, and (c) are relevant to the proceedings,
and make similar verification in relation to references to evidence in written submissions or summaries or skeletons of argument to evidence (whether the evidence be contained in affidavits or transcript).
Gen AI must not be used to draft or prepare the content of an expert report (or any part of an expert report) without prior leave of the Court. Legal practitioners and unrepresented parties must draw the requirements of this Practice Note to the attention of experts when instructing them.
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