Austrian Supreme Court rejects AI-generated legal complaint with fabricated citations
An Austrian lawyer filed a legal complaint generated primarily by an AI system on behalf of a convicted defendant. The Supreme Court rejected the complaint after discovering it contained numerous false citations and fabricated references to court decisions that did not exist.
What happened
The Austrian Supreme Court (OGH) rejected a legal complaint (Nichtigkeitsbeschwerde) filed in a criminal case that was generated primarily using artificial intelligence. The complaint had been filed on behalf of a man convicted by Graz Regional Criminal Court partly for drug trafficking.
Reported impact
The AI-generated complaint was filled with erroneous citations and referenced Supreme Court decisions that did not exist. The complaint cited alleged procedural results and court rulings that the AI apparently fabricated, failing to meet the required legal standard for presenting grounds for annulment at the appropriate argumentation level for Austria's highest court.
Index analysis
The OGH noted that the complaint, created apparently without expert legal review, was saturated with numerous misquotations regarding both alleged procedural results and mostly non-existent or irrelevant Supreme Court decisions. Factually, the complaint referenced case materials at locations where they did not appear in the court file.
Governance controls
The OGH declined to address the complaint on its merits, finding that it did not meet the threshold for legal argumentation expected of Austria's highest court. The court's decision highlights the absence of professional oversight during the AI-generated document's creation.
Classification
Sources and evidence
Sources not yet published
This record was researched and written by the Index from original reporting. Its sources are still being verified by an editor, and they are listed here once that check is complete. Until then the record carries no reviewer.