The Spanish General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) has, for the first time, fined a judge for using artificial intelligence in drafting a court decision. A magistrate from a provincial court was fined €1,000 for using ChatGPT to prepare a draft verdict. The decision was made by a majority vote of the disciplinary committee, which classified the magistrate’s actions as a serious violation—disclosure of information obtained in the course of official duties outside of established procedures.
Initially, the initiator of the disciplinary proceedings proposed a harsher penalty—a 15-day suspension from office under an article concerning gross misconduct, as well as an additional fine. However, the committee did not agree with this qualification, considering that the judge had used artificial intelligence as an auxiliary tool rather than as a replacement for his own functions. The prosecutor’s office, for its part, did not see the judge’s actions as constituting a disciplinary offense and insisted that the case be closed without sanctions.
Reasons and details of the incident
According to the CGPJ, the reason for the investigation was that the judge failed to remove traces of references to ChatGPT from the draft verdict. This allowed court colleagues to discover that artificial intelligence had been used in preparing the reasoning section of the ruling. According to El Español, the magistrate presented colleagues with a document whose argumentation was based on analysis performed by ChatGPT using case materials provided by the judge himself.
The disciplinary body did not dispute the very fact of using AI, but pointed out that it is unacceptable to substitute the judge’s personal exercise of judicial duties with automated methods. An important argument was that the judge failed to properly control the confidentiality of information, which became the grounds for considering the violation serious.
Restrictions on the use of AI in courts
Back in January 2026, the Judicial Council approved a special guideline prohibiting the complete replacement of judicial activity by artificial intelligence. According to this document, AI cannot independently issue decisions, assess evidence, or apply legal norms without the judge’s constant and deliberate oversight. The use of third-party applications not certified by the CGPJ or not officially provided by judicial authorities is also prohibited.
The document specifically emphasizes that artificial intelligence should not replace the responsibility, independence, and professional role of judges, nor can it violate principles of confidentiality and data security. Such measures are aimed at preventing errors associated with algorithmic bias and protecting the rights of participants in the process.
Context and reaction
This case is the first example in Spain of disciplinary action for the use of Chat GPT in judicial practice. The decision emphasizes that even without malicious intent, judges are required to strictly follow information handling rules and not rely on automated tools without oversight. The admissibility of AI use in government institutions remains a subject of debate in other fields as well. For instance, Spanish authorities recently expressed readiness to challenge controversial measures in Extremadura related to the rights of migrants, which also sparked widespread response — read more in the article about the government’s reaction to new regional restrictions.
