AI and the Judicial Duty to State Reasons

The increasing reliance on algorithmic and AI systems by judges is reshaping the judiciary and its way of working in numerous ways. One aspect that has remain under-examined is how the judicial duty to state reasons may be affected. This refers to the obligation of judges to provide reasons whenever they rule in a case. In fact, the duty constitutes an essential component of the rule of law, the right to a fair trial, and fulfils important normative goals, such as legitimacy, transparency and accountability of the judicial decision-making process. The chapter therefore first provides a concise conceptualisation of the duty, including its underlying normative goals. It then examines how and to what extent the judicial duty to state reasons can be impacted whenever judges rely on AI systems, focussing on the impact of such systems on the underlying normative goals of the duty. The chapter concludes with some reflections on how the duty can be safeguarded in the age of automation.