Specialised AI agents designed to support judicial processes were presented by the UAE Ministry of Justice at the 15th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice.^[1] Hosted at ADNEC Centre in Abu Dhabi from 26th September to 1st October 2026.^[2] The Ministry states that the tools reduce the time required for case file review from several days to just a few hours.^[3] While still maintaining human decision-making as the overarching authority, judges hold power over the final outcome.^[4]

For parties and lawyers appearing before the federal courts, the announcement raises practical questions. What does the system actually do? What stays with the judge? And does it change how a case should be prepared and presented? This article sets out what has been announced, the framework around it, and the points clients and practitioners should keep an eye out for.

The announcement

The announcement was predated by GITEX Global in October 2025, where the ministry presented a “Court of the Future” concept built on an AI-powered digital ecosystem.^[5] In that demonstration, the judge’s platform displayed case data, documents and evidence prepared autonomously and automatically by the system, generating a suggested draft judgment, which the judge could edit or replace with one written independently.^[6] The agents shown in Abu Dhabi this year follow the same design language: the system prepares the case, while the judge holds the power of a final decision.

The ministry’s solution consists of five AI agents, each with a defined role in the judicial workflow, which connect to the ministry’s existing electronic court systems.^[7]

Gulf News, citing a ministry spokesperson, reported that pre-trial case analysis and the summarising of evidentiary reports, a process that typically takes up to 18 working days, is now reduced to two hours.^[8] The official release, however, is more general in nature and refers to a reduction from several days to a few hours.^[9] The same report states that the underlying language model was developed over nine months, having been trained on more than 22,000 legal documents, and tested against 10,000 historical case files to verify its results.^[10]

The system is not yet in general use, as the ministry first plans to deploy it across federal courts once trials and stakeholder integration conclude later this year.^[11] It has also said that deployment will be expanded progressively after further evaluation, testing and integration with judicial partner entities.^[12]

Additionally, the ministry also showcased related tools, including: Smart Justice Leadership Dashboard giving administrators real-time data on clearance rates and filing volumes across federal courts, an estate and succession module that calculates estate distributions, and an automated document certification pipeline for routine procedural filings.^[13]

Five agents, and seven stages

The five agents operate in a coordinated sequence:^[14]

1. Case File Review Assistant: Classifies and processes the digital case documents and extracts key information.
2. Case Analysis Assistant: Links facts to evidence and identifies the primary legal issues.
3. Legal Research Assistant: Compiles the relevant legislation and judicial precedents.
4. Decision Support Assistant: Summarises the legal options open to the judge and their implications.
5. Judgment Drafting Assistant: Prepares a preliminary, non-binding draft of a judgment remaining subject to judicial review, amendment and approval.

According to Abdulrahman Murad Al Blooshi, Assistant Undersecretary for the International Cooperation and Legal Affairs Sector at the Ministry of Justice, the review process has seven stages, of which five are supported by AI agents, and two remain exclusively with judges.^[15] This allows human intervention to play a role where required while automating the more manual processes that go into legal proceedings.

UAE’s approach in the international framework

The UAE’s approach falls squarely within an emerging set of international standards. The Abu Dhabi Declaration, adopted by 119 countries on the opening day of the Congress, includes a pledge to promote the responsible use of AI in criminal justice systems, with safeguards that include human oversight, transparency, traceability and the protection of personal data.^[16]

UNESCO’s Guidelines for the Use of AI Systems in Courts and Tribunals, released in December 2025, set out 15 principles, including transparency, auditability and human oversight.^[17] They also advise courts to tell people, properly and in good time, when and how AI systems are deployed, which is something not demarcated clearly as of yet in the UAE.^[18]

Speaking at the Congress, Dr Abdullah Al Kaabi of PwC Middle East pointed to Brazil, where AI has been used since 2018 to classify legal appeals without removing judges’ decision-making authority. He contrasted this with the Netherlands, where a programme that automatically profiled suspects was suspended in 2020 after it was found to embed systemic bias. His conclusion was that outcomes depend on governance more than on the tool.^[19] This is the same reasoning that follows the ministry’s new ethics code.

The ethics code and maintaining the judge’s final call

Mr Al Blooshi stated that the model is designed so that judicial discretion and final decision-making stay entirely with the judge.^[20] The ministry spokesperson quoted by Gulf News described the technology as a decision-support mechanism, where the judge is free to evaluate, modify, rewrite or dismiss any automated output, having final say in the matter.^[21]

That position is now backed by a formal instrument: on 28 September 2026, the Ministry of Justice launched an ethics code governing the use of AI in the legal profession.^[22] Dr Abdullah Al Hammadi, Assistant Undersecretary for Support Services, said that no decision affecting an individual may be made by AI alone, and that there must be human accountability, oversight and a record of who made each decision, to ensure human accountability.^[23]

What litigants and practitioners should do now?

These are certain measures to keep in mind when evaluating the changes from the perspective of a litigant or practitioner.

The presentation of the case file becomes integral, where the first pass over a case file is made by software that classifies documents and extracts key information; a clearly organised file is easier to process accurately. Well-indexed bundles and consistent document descriptions with memoranda clearly stating the issues plainly make it easier for the system to process them. They become more valuable when the judge’s first view of the case may be a structured summary.

It is also necessary to keep in mind that nothing that has been rolled out actually changes who makes the final decision. The published statements consistently say that outputs are non-binding and that the judge may depart from them. Submissions should continue to be written to persuade a judge, instead of trying to optimise them for the AI tools.

Lastly, the courts’ adoption of AI does not lower the standard expected of practitioners. In Arabyads Holding Limited v Gulrez Alam Marghoob Alam, the ADGM Court of First Instance ordered a law firm to pay wasted costs of AED 282,508 after its pleadings cited authorities that did not exist and appeared to be AI-generated.^[24] The court held that relying on AI does not relieve lawyers of the duty to verify their research and ensure that no information is fabricated.^[25] It can be presumed that this same scrutiny will also apply to the AI tools rolled out and to the judges that utilise them.

The DIFC Courts’ Practical Guidance Note No. 2 of 2023 similarly calls for transparency about AI-generated content and for that content to be verified for accuracy.^[26] These are free-zone authorities and do not bind the federal courts, but they indicate the direction and level of caution to be exercised.

Beyond the federal courts: Abu Dhabi and the Public Prosecution

Similar progress can be seen in Abu Dhabi as well, as on 28 September 2026 the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department launched the first phase of its own Judicial AI Platform, including a Judicial Assistant that supports the Public Prosecution and criminal courts in analysing certain case types, recommending decisions and drafting judgments.^[27] Later phases are to add real-time translation, automated hearing records and tools to detect forged documents.^[28]

At the Congress, Counsellor Salem Al Zaabi outlined its Future Prosecution 2045 vision, under which AI may retrieve information, organise case material and summarise files, while decisions with significant legal consequences remain with humans.^[29] The model is risk-based: the greater the potential effect on rights or liberty, the stronger the safeguards and the greater the extent of human control.^[30]

On 23 April 2026, the UAE Cabinet approved a programme to deploy agentic AI across 50 per cent of government sectors, services and operations within two years.^[31]

AI-assisted case review is likely to shorten the time a file spends waiting for judicial attention. Making this a welcome addition to the judicial toolkit so long as the safeguards carry forward in practice.

References

Arabyads Holding Ltd. v. Gulrez Alam Marghoob Alam, [2025] ADGMCFI 0032 (Abu Dhabi Glob. Mkt. Ct. First Instance Dec. 18, 2025) (U.A.E.), https://assets.adgm.com/download/assets/ADGMCFI-2025-165+ +Costs+Judgment+-+Justice+Paul+Heath+KC+18122025+SEALED.pdf/68b3146edcba11f0a1f22292341fda95.

DIFC Cts., Practical Guidance Note No. 2 of 2023: Guidelines on the Use of Large Language Models and Generative AI in Proceedings Before the DIFC Courts (Dec. 21, 2023), https://www.difccourts.ae/rules-decisions/practice-directions/practical-guidance-note-no-2-2023-guidelines-use-large-language-models-and-generative-ai-proceedings-difc-courts.

Juan David Gutiérrez, U.N. Educ., Sci. & Cultural Org. [UNESCO], Guidelines for the Use of AI Systems in Courts and Tribunals (2025), https://doi.org/10.58338/LIEY8089.

United Arab Emirates, Oxford Inst. of Tech. & Just.: AI Just. Atlas, https://www.techandjustice.bsg.ox.ac.uk/research/united-arab-emirates (last visited Oct. 4, 2026).

Abu Dhabi Launches AI Platform for Judiciary, Gulf Today (Sept. 28, 2026), https://www.gulftoday.ae/news/2026/09/28/abu-dhabi-launches-ai-platform-for-judiciary.

Amal Alduwaila AlHashmi, Abu Dhabi Declaration: What 119 Countries Agreed on AI, Cybercrime and Trafficking, Khaleej Times (Sept. 26, 2026), https://www.khaleejtimes.com/uae/abu-dhabi-declaration-explained-un-crime-congress-2026.

Amal Alduwaila AlHashmi, UAE Launches Ethics Code for Use of AI in Legal Processes That Affect People, Khaleej Times (Sept. 28, 2026), https://www.khaleejtimes.com/business/tech/uae-ethics-code-use-of-ai-legal-processes-affect-people.

Abdulla Rasheed, No Papers, No Documents, No Lawyers: UAE Unveils ‘Court of the Future’, Gulf News (Oct. 16, 2025), https://gulfnews.com/uae/government/no-papers-no-documents-no-lawyers-uae-unveils-court-of-the-future-1.500310563.

Abdulla Rasheed, UAE Ministry of Justice Leads Shift Towards Agentic AI, Reducing Case File Review Process from Days to Hours, Gulf News (Sept. 29, 2026), https://gulfnews.com/uae/abu-dhabi/uae-ministry-of-justice-leads-shift-towards-agentic-ai-reducing-case-file-review-process-from-days-to-hours-1.500692116.

UAE Ministry of Justice Leads Shift Towards Agentic AI, Emirates News Agency (WAM) (Sept. 29, 2026), https://www.wam.ae/en/article/c2holmz-uae-ministry-justice-leads-shift-towards-agentic.

UAE Ministry of Justice Unveils Agentic AI to Slash Pre-Trial Case Review from 18 Days to 2 Hours, Gulf News (Sept, 2026), https://gulfnews.com/uae/abu-dhabi/uae-ministry-of-justice-unveils-agentic-ai-to-slash-pre-trial-case-review-from-18-days-to-2-hours-1.500689701.

Under Directives of UAE President and in World First: Mohammed bin Rashid Reveals New UAE Government Framework to Deploy Agentic AI Across 50% of Government Sectors, Operations Within Two Years, Emirates News Agency (WAM) (Apr. 23, 2026), https://www.wam.ae/en/article/bzv0oj7-under-directives-uae-president-and-world-first.

Rahf Youssef, UAE Public Prosecution’s 2045 Vision Keeps Humans in Command of AI, Gulf News (Sept. 27, 2026), https://gulfnews.com/uae/abu-dhabi/uae-public-prosecutions-2045-vision-keeps-humans-in-command-of-ai-2-1.500689044.

[1] Abdulla Rasheed, UAE Ministry of Justice Leads Shift Towards Agentic AI, Reducing Case File Review Process from Days to Hours, Gulf News (Sept. 29, 2026), https://gulfnews.com/uae/abu-dhabi/uae-ministry-of-justice-leads-shift-towards-agentic-ai-reducing-case-file-review-process-from-days-to-hours-1.500692116.

[2] Amal Alduwaila AlHashmi, Abu Dhabi Declaration: What 119 Countries Agreed on AI, Cybercrime and Trafficking, Khaleej Times (Sept. 26, 2026), https://www.khaleejtimes.com/uae/abu-dhabi-declaration-explained-un-crime-congress-2026.

[3] UAE Ministry of Justice Leads Shift Towards Agentic AI, Emirates News Agency (WAM) (Sept. 29, 2026), https://www.wam.ae/en/article/c2holmz-uae-ministry-justice-leads-shift-towards-agentic.

[4] Id.

[5] Abdulla Rasheed, No Papers, No Documents, No Lawyers: UAE Unveils ‘Court of the Future’, Gulf News (Oct. 16, 2025), https://gulfnews.com/uae/government/no-papers-no-documents-no-lawyers-uae-unveils-court-of-the-future-1.500310563.

[6] Id.

[7] Rasheed, UAE Ministry of Justice Leads Shift, supra note 1.

[8] UAE Ministry of Justice Unveils Agentic AI to Slash Pre-Trial Case Review from 18 Days to 2 Hours, Gulf News (Sept. __, 2026), https://gulfnews.com/uae/abu-dhabi/uae-ministry-of-justice-unveils-agentic-ai-to-slash-pre-trial-case-review-from-18-days-to-2-hours-1.500689701.

[9] UAE Ministry of Justice Leads Shift Towards Agentic AI, supra note 3.

[10] UAE Ministry of Justice Unveils Agentic AI, supra note 8.

[11] Id.

[12] Rasheed, UAE Ministry of Justice Leads Shift, supra note 1.

[13] UAE Ministry of Justice Unveils Agentic AI, supra note 8.

[14] Rasheed, UAE Ministry of Justice Leads Shift, supra note 1.

[15] Id.

[16] AlHashmi, Abu Dhabi Declaration, supra note 2.

[17] Juan David Gutiérrez, U.N. Educ., Sci. & Cultural Org. [UNESCO], Guidelines for the Use of AI Systems in Courts and Tribunals (2025), https://doi.org/10.58338/LIEY8089.

[18] See id.; United Arab Emirates, Oxford Inst. of Tech. & Just.: AI Just. Atlas, https://www.techandjustice.bsg.ox.ac.uk/research/united-arab-emirates (last visited Oct. 4, 2026) (reporting that, as at March 2026, no publicly available guidance addressed whether litigants are notified when AI tools are used in their cases).

[19] Amal Alduwaila AlHashmi, UAE Launches Ethics Code for Use of AI in Legal Processes That Affect People, Khaleej Times (Sept. 28, 2026), https://www.khaleejtimes.com/business/tech/uae-ethics-code-use-of-ai-legal-processes-affect-people.

[20] Rasheed, UAE Ministry of Justice Leads Shift, supra note 1.

[21] UAE Ministry of Justice Unveils Agentic AI, supra note 8.

[22] AlHashmi, UAE Launches Ethics Code, supra note 19.

[23] Id.

[24] Arabyads Holding Ltd. v. Gulrez Alam Marghoob Alam, [2025] ADGMCFI 0032 (Abu Dhabi Glob. Mkt. Ct. First Instance Dec. 18, 2025) (U.A.E.), https://assets.adgm.com/download/assets/ADGMCFI-2025-165+-+Costs+Judgment+-+Justice+Paul+Heath+KC+-+18122025+SEALED.pdf/68b3146edcba11f0a1f22292341fda95.

[25] Id.

[26] DIFC Cts., Practical Guidance Note No. 2 of 2023: Guidelines on the Use of Large Language Models and Generative AI in Proceedings Before the DIFC Courts (Dec. 21, 2023), https://www.difccourts.ae/rules-decisions/practice-directions/practical-guidance-note-no-2-2023-guidelines-use-large-language-models-and-generative-ai-proceedings-difc-courts.

[27] Abu Dhabi Launches AI Platform for Judiciary, Gulf Today (Sept. 28, 2026), https://www.gulftoday.ae/news/2026/09/28/abu-dhabi-launches-ai-platform-for-judiciary.

[28] Id.

[29] Rahf Youssef, UAE Public Prosecution’s 2045 Vision Keeps Humans in Command of AI, Gulf News (Sept. 27, 2026), https://gulfnews.com/uae/abu-dhabi/uae-public-prosecutions-2045-vision-keeps-humans-in-command-of-ai-2-1.500689044.

[30] Id.

[31] Under Directives of UAE President and in World First: Mohammed bin Rashid Reveals New UAE Government Framework to Deploy Agentic AI Across 50% of Government Sectors, Operations Within Two Years, Emirates News Agency (WAM) (Apr. 23, 2026), https://www.wam.ae/en/article/bzv0oj7-under-directives-uae-president-and-world-first.