ColombiaPublic sector2023–2024Circuit court of Cartagena (Colombian judiciary)
ChatGPT used in a health-coverage ruling
A Colombian judge quoted ChatGPT in a ruling, and the Constitutional Court answered with twelve criteria for judges' AI use
Problem
Colombian courts carry heavy caseloads. In January 2023 a Cartagena judge was deciding an appeal over whether a health insurer had to waive fees and pay transport for an autistic child from a poor family.
Approach
Judge Juan Manuel Padilla upheld the child's claim in a ruling dated 30 January 2023 and said he had used ChatGPT 3.5 to extend the ruling's reasoning, pasting its answers into the decision. He said he had reached the decision himself and used the tool afterwards. Reviewing the case, the Constitutional Court found in ruling T-323 of 2024 that due process had not been violated, but that the judge fell short on transparency and responsibility.
Results
Takeaway
The Court did not ban generative AI in courts. It drew a line between drafting help and the non-delegable work of weighing facts and evidence and reasoning a decision, and asked the judiciary's governing council to issue guidelines.
Categories
- Size
- Large enterprise
- Industry
- Public sector
- Business function
- Finance, risk and legal
- Innovation type
- Process innovation
- AI technology
- Generative AI
- Adoption
- Off-the-shelf tool or platform
- Evidence
- Regulator, audit or court
Sources
Source summaries
The ruling reviews the January 2023 second-instance decision in which the Cartagena judge said he had used ChatGPT 3.5 after reaching his decision. It finds no due process violation, because the tool did not replace the judge's reasoning, but says transparency and responsibility standards were not fully met. It sets twelve criteria, including transparency, verification and human control, and orders the Consejo Superior de la Judicatura to issue guidelines within four months.
AFP reported that Judge Juan Manuel Padilla announced he had used the chatbot in a case about exempting an autistic child from fees for appointments, therapy and transport. The disclosure caused controversy.
Full details are in the original sources.
