by Carly Cotton
The Online Procedure Rule Committee (OPRC), chaired by the Master of the Rolls, has confirmed that a forthcoming Code of Practice for the digital justice system will include standards for the “responsible and ethical use of AI”. The announcement, made in a statement on future priorities published on 30th July 2026, sits alongside news that the OPRC’s core rules, the Online Procedure (Rules and Practice Directions) Rules 2026, have now been laid before Parliament and will come into force on 7th September, with the first procedural rules expected later this year for possession proceedings. Although the Code of Practice will be voluntary, it is intended to be followed by all service providers across the digital justice system, including those involved in early dispute resolution, and to provide a shared framework for good practice on inclusion, technology and data standards, and AI use.
Why this matters for expert evidence
Our clinical expert witnesses recently took part in a training session exploring both the opportunities emerging from AI and the security challenges that come with them. The session also considered practical frameworks for integrating technology into expert-witness work, while protecting data, maintaining ethical standards and preserving the independence required in medical reporting for personal injury and clinical negligence proceedings.
AI tools are becoming increasingly useful for tasks such as summarising records, shaping report structure and checking consistency. At the same time, they can introduce errors, blur the boundary between an expert’s own clinical judgement and machine-generated material, or put patient confidentiality at risk. These were the very issues covered in our training, which reinforced that:
- Any use of AI must be disclosed and remain firmly subordinate to the expert’s own independent clinical opinion;
- source data and patient information must be handled in line with data protection and confidentiality obligations;
- outputs must always be verified against the primary medical records; and
- the expert, not the tool, remains fully accountable for the accuracy and integrity of the report.
A welcome direction of travel
The OPRC’s plans is a positive step. As the justice system becomes increasingly digital, clear, shared standards for AI use will help maintain public trust and consistency across providers, exactly the outcome the Committee says it is seeking to achieve.