There is a new High Court Practice Direction HC142, concerning the responsible use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (“GenAI”) in Court Documents, which came into operation on the 1st September 2026.
Courts.ie – Practice Directions
The Practice Direction applies to Court Documents including pleadings, submissions, affidavits, witness statements, and expert reports.
In particular, it introduces specific requirements in respect of affidavits and witness statements which are intended to stand as evidence in proceedings.
With effect from the 1st September 2026, the following declaration is required to be included in one of the opening paragraphs of all future High Court affidavits and witness statements, unless otherwise directed by the Court, as per paragraph 27 of the Practice Direction HC142:
“I declare that Generative Artificial Intelligence has not been used for the purposes of generating the substantive content of this [witness statement/affidavit] (including by way or altering, embellishing, strengthening, diluting or rephrasing the evidence set out) and that this [witness statement/affidavit] reflects my personal knowledge, recollection and evidence.”
In light of the above, we would recommend that particular care is taken to ensure that any affidavit or witness statement is fully reviewed and finalized before it is presented for swearing.
Any subsequent amendments to an affidavit following its swearing may have practical implications, including the potential requirement for the document to be re-sworn, and may therefore result in additional time and attendance requirements.
We hope the above is of assistance and would encourage you to take the new requirements into consideration when preparing and finalizing relevant High Court documents going forward.
For further information, please refer to the Courts Service website and the full text of Practice Direction HC142: https://courts.ie/practice-directions/full-practice-direction?url=practice-direction-on-the-responsible-use-of-generative-artificial-intelligence-in-court-documents