Law Universities Must Shape, Not Just Adapt to AI: CJI Surya Kant

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Sunday urged National Law Universities to take the lead in shaping the impact of technology on the legal system, stressing that innovation must remain anchored in justice, fairness and human judgment.

Addressing the Vice Chancellors’ Conclave 2.0 at National Law University, Jodhpur, the CJI said the legal profession could no longer afford to remain a late adopter of technology. He called on law schools to anticipate technological developments and help determine how they should be integrated into the justice system.

Speaking on the theme, “Legal Technology and its Roadmap: Positioning Law as a Leader in Legal Technology”, Surya Kant said technology was already transforming areas including contract drafting, due diligence, legal research, evidence management and dispute resolution.

He said future law graduates would increasingly work with tools capable of analysing thousands of precedents within seconds, identifying legal and regulatory risks and supporting courts and dispute-resolution mechanisms. However, he cautioned that technological familiarity alone would not be enough.

“A graduate who understands only the output of a technological tool would remain dependent on it,” the CJI said, emphasising the need for students to question assumptions, verify conclusions and exercise independent judgment. On the growing use of generative AI in legal education, Surya Kant acknowledged concerns over student dependence on such tools, weakened independent argument-building and the possibility of accepting inaccurate AI-generated answers. However, he rejected an outright ban.

Instead, he advocated transparent and supervised use of AI in classrooms, enabling students to understand both its capabilities and limitations while maintaining academic integrity. The CJI also urged National Law Universities to collaborate on research into algorithmic accountability, data protection, digital access to justice and technology-driven dispute resolution.

He warned that institutions resisting technological change could lose the opportunity to shape it. Technology, he said, should make legal institutions more capable, while human values must determine how that capability is used.