To Regulate or Not to Regulate: Assessing the Necessity of Regulating AI Systems in Adjudication in Light of Article 6(1) ECHR

This article assesses the necessity of regulating artificial intelligence (AI) systems in judicial decision-making through the lens of the fair trial guarantees of Article 6(1) of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Using a doctrinal legal methodology, the study examines how different AI deployment models, namely AI-assisted adjudication (‘e-assistants’) and fully autonomous AI judges (‘e-judges’), interact with three crucial procedural safeguards: equality of arms, public hearing, and reasoned decisions. Drawing on jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights and the Council of Europe soft law instruments, the analysis demonstrates that AI systems, as currently developed, run the risks associated with opacity, imbalance, and normative ambiguity incompatible with fair trial standards. The article concludes that robust national and regional regulatory frameworks are needed to mitigate these risks, especially in light of the growing use of AI in courts in Europe and beyond. This research contributes to the broader debate on algorithmic governance in democratic societies and calls for regulatory foresight to preserve judicial integrity in the digital age.