South African court finds AI-generated false case citations in Northbound Processing filing
A South African court discovered that an AI tool called Legal Genius had generated non-existent case citations in court filings submitted by Northbound Processing's legal team in an urgent application. The junior counsel admitted using the tool and took responsibility, while the judge referred the matter to the Legal Practice Council for investigation and warned of serious implications for the justice system.
What happened
Acting Judge DJ Smit of the Gauteng High Court discovered two non-existent case citations in heads of argument filed by Northbound Processing's legal team in an urgent application seeking release of a refining licence from the South African Diamond and Precious Metals Regulator.
Junior counsel admitted to using an online tool called Legal Genius to draft court submissions and attributed the errors to time constraints and the urgent nature of the application. The senior advocate stated he had conducted only a 'sense-check' on the document rather than verifying citations, and relied on an experienced legal team to ensure accuracy.
Reported impact
Judge Smit remarked that there are serious implications for the administration of justice and public confidence in the justice system if artificial intelligence is misused. The judge acknowledged the apologies but stated that even negligence in this context may have grave repercussions.
Index analysis
Judge Smit cited a recent English judgment warning against the risks of using AI in legal research, noting it could be entirely incorrect and cite sources which do not exist. The judge noted that written heads of argument are as important a memorial of counsel's argument as oral argument and are often more heavily relied upon by judges.
Governance controls
Judge Smit referred the conduct of the legal practitioners to the Legal Practice Council for investigation. Junior counsel apologised unreservedly and took full responsibility, insisting there was no intent to mislead the court, while Northbound's senior counsel also issued an apology.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.