Emirates News Agency – Abu Dhabi judiciary begins using machine learning to speed up criminal cases

ABU DHABI, 8th August, 2022 (WAM) — The Abu Dhabi Judiciary Department (ADJD) has developed a smart program that uses machine learning, a type of artificial intelligence, to follow up on criminal court cases to improve adjudication rates and Speed ​​up the trial of criminal cases.

The department is updating the program to enable electronic sentencing in criminal cases resolved through mediation or waiver, as well as in cases affected by the statute of limitations.

Abu Dhabi Deputy Minister of Justice, Youssef Saeed Al-Abri, stressed that the use of artificial intelligence tools to follow up all the work of the criminal courts is a paradigm shift in the judicial system in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, in line with the vision of Deputy Prime Minister of Abu Dhabi , His Excellency Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of the Presidential Courts and Head of the Judiciary, to develop smart and innovative courts of the future with world-class services.

Al Abri said this step is in line with the digital transformation of justice and legal services as part of the application of the remote litigation system and the implementation of the Abu Dhabi Justice Department’s strategic plan for 2021-2023, which focuses on the world.

Counselor Mansour Al Marzouqi, President of the Abu Dhabi Criminal Court, explained that the use of machine learning in the criminal courts facilitates immediate follow-up of all the work of the judiciary as the program provides accurate statistics on closed, pending cases, Follow-up of detainees in outstanding cases, trial rates and adjourned cases. This facilitates urgent measures to expedite cases and adjudicate them in accordance with the procedures established by law.

He added that the program also allows sentences to be pronounced electronically, either in their presence or in their absence, while providing a wealth of data on the draft sentence, such as the defendant’s name, the criminal code clause to which the charges relate, and a description of the charges against the defendant.

He noted that the system is being updated to accommodate more criminal case procedures, including in criminal cases resolved through mediation or waiver, once waiver or mediation in criminal cases including battery, verbal abuse and destruction, and those subject to the statute of limitations.