The working group on artificial intelligence at the Court of Cassation formally submitted its report, “Court of Cassation and Artificial Intelligence: Preparing the Court of Tomorrow”, to First President Christophe Soulard and Prosecutor General Rémy Heitz, and made it public on April 28, 2025.

Drawing on its experience with artificial intelligence, the Court of Cassation contributes to the broader reflection within the justice system and advocates for a methodological, ethical, and pragmatic approach to its use.

The Court of Cassation plays a leading role in driving innovation within the justice system and in the use of artificial intelligence (AI). Entrusted by the legislature with the task of ensuring the Open Data publication of court decisions, the Court anticipated the technological needs of this mission and internally developed a highly effective tool for the pseudonymization of judicial decisions. To achieve this, it recruited several scientific staff members.

Building on this experience and the experiments it has already initiated, First President Christophe Soulard and Prosecutor General Rémy Heitz decided to establish a dedicated working group on AI. In the official mission letter sent on May 29, 2024, they tasked the group with examining how AI tools could be deployed, what their limitations might be, and what guidelines should govern their use.

The working group was chaired by Ms. Sandrine Zientara, chamber president and director of the Documentation, Studies, and Report Department (SDER), and included judges, clerks, and data scientists representing the Court’s offices and chambers. It conducted a needs assessment regarding AI within the Court, and then developed a set of evaluation criteria encompassing ethical, legal, and technical considerations. The group systematically analyzed and assessed each use case against these criteria.

The report thus provides a generalist methodology for evaluating AI use cases, which may be of interest to other judicial bodies.

It also includes comparative insights into how AI is being implemented in national and foreign supreme courts, and dedicates a section to articulating guiding principles for the development and use of AI. These principles address ethics in both design and usage, as well as governance and technical reliability. The report concludes by recommending the creation of internal oversight bodies—both operational and ethical—to guide the deployment of AI tools.

On April 28, 2025, Ms. Sandrine Zientara, the President of the Chamber, along with the members of the working group, presented this important work to the First President and the Prosecutor General. They praised the high quality of the work and the ambition it embodies, which compels the Court to continue its innovation efforts.

This report is the realization of the High Court's commitment to envisioning the Court of Cassation of tomorrow.