人工智能在中国司法裁判中的运用研究 - 以智慧法院建设为中心的法治考察

With the advent of the digital and information age, artificial intelligence (AI) technology has emerged as a core driver of societal transformation. Against this backdrop, China’s AI development has been closely integrated with national strategies, particularly in the judicial sector, where the construction of “Smart Courts” has become a vital component of the national informatization strategy. This initiative aims to address the long-standing structural contradiction of “case overload versus insufficient judicial personnel” in judicial practice. In recent years, the number of cases handled by Chinese courts has continued to rise, placing immense pressure on traditional trial models. In this context, China’s “Smart Courts” leverage technology to empower the judiciary, serving not only as a crucial pathway to enhance judicial efficiency but also as a means to balance judicial fairness and efficiency. This paper conducts an in-depth study on the development of China’s “Smart Courts,” analyzing their institutional foundations, evolutionary trajectory, operational models, existing challenges, and academic debates. It also draws on international experiences from the United States, Japan, the European Union, and other jurisdictions to provide theoretical insights and practical references for optimizing “Smart Court” systems in both China and South Korea. Employing legal research methodologies such as normative analysis, historical research, comparative studies, and socio-legal research, this paper offers a multi-layered examination of China’s “Smart Courts.” First, from an institutional perspective, the paper reveals that China’s “Smart Courts” represent a new governance paradigm arising from the integration of technology and the judiciary. Their legal basis stems from top-level designs such as the Supreme People’s Court’s Five-Year Development Plan for Court Informatization, and their evolution has progressed from localized pilots to nationwide implementation and then to intelligent upgrades. Second, through empirical case studies of courts such as the Hangzhou Internet Court, the Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court, and the Ningbo Maritime Court, the paper identifies various models of technological application in judicial adjudication. The findings indicate that while China’s “Smart Courts” have achieved notable successes, deeper contradictions are gradually emerging. Key issues include ambiguous boundaries for AI-assisted decision-making, conflicts between automated document generation and judicial reasoning obligations, risks to data security and privacy protection, and unclear accountability mechanisms. Chinese academia has engaged in vigorous debates on topics such as the legality of AI-assisted adjudication, the rationality of case recommendation systems, tensions between automated document generation and judicial reasoning, and algorithmic transparency and accountability. In comparative terms, the U.S., Japan, South Korea, and the EU exhibit distinct characteristics in their application of judicial AI, offering valuable lessons for China’s “Smart Courts.” This paper argues that China’s “Smart Courts” have initially established a unique development path characterized by technological advancement followed by institutional refinement. While China possesses technological advantages, improvements are needed in judicial boundaries, accountability frameworks, and legal systems. Meanwhile, South Korea’s “Smart Court” system remains in the early stages of pilot exploration. Its institutional design can benefit from China’s practical experiences—both successes and lessons—while also incorporating advanced concepts from foreign jurisdictions such as the U.S. and the EU in areas like technology adoption, institutional design, and ethical governance, thereby achieving late-mover advantages.