Chief Justice Says a Practice Direction on AI Use by Lawyers and Court Officers Is Coming Within Weeks
Malaysia’s judiciary will issue a practice direction on the use of artificial intelligence by lawyers and court officers within the next few weeks, Chief Justice Tun Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh said on October 28, according to Malay Mail, citing Bernama. Speaking at the opening of the International Malaysia Law Conference 2026 in Kuala Lumpur, he said judges already have their own guidelines on AI, and the new rules will extend that framework to the lawyers and officers who appear before them.
The Chief Justice said the judiciary encourages the use of AI, but that guidelines are needed to show what is permitted and what is not. He described AI as a tool that can make the system more efficient, while warning about its weaknesses. AI, he said, can produce answers that are polished and persuasive, but entirely wrong, and judges and lawyers should remain alert to that risk.
His speech drew a firm line around judicial decision-making. AI can assist judges, he said, but it can never become the author of justice itself. He said no computer programme can look into the eyes of a victim, feel the weight of a sentence or weigh mercy against punishment, pointing to the 2023 abolition of the mandatory death penalty, which returned sentencing discretion to judges, as an example of decisions that require human judgment.
What it means in practice
For practising lawyers, the main change will be written rules on how AI may be used in preparing court documents. Courts in several countries have sanctioned lawyers who filed briefs containing invented cases generated by chatbots, and a practice direction would set out who is responsible for checking citations and whether AI use must be disclosed. The details have not been published, so firms will have to wait to see whether disclosure becomes mandatory.
The court rules arrive as Malaysia builds its wider AI framework. Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo has said an AI governance bill is expected in the Dewan Rakyat early next year, and lawmakers have used the budget debate to argue that an AI ethics framework should come before wider adoption. A judicial practice direction would be one of the first binding sets of rules for a specific profession.
What to watch next is the text of the practice direction, including whether it requires lawyers to declare AI-assisted filings, what penalties apply to fabricated authorities, and whether the Malaysian Bar issues its own guidance to members alongside it.