Sir Geoffrey Vos says AI may eventually make decisions in property disputes as systems modernise
Artificial intelligence could one day be used to make decisions in property disputes, the Master of the Rolls has suggested, predicting a future in which machine-made judgments may become part of the civil justice system. Sir Geoffrey Vos said the rapid use of digital tools by the public already marked a significant shift in how claims were being prepared and submitted.
Speaking at last week’s Housing Law Practitioners’ Association conference, he said individuals were increasingly relying on AI to pursue litigation. According to the Master of the Rolls, AI can turn “lengthy ramblings” from tenants into clear and intelligible legal claims in a matter of minutes. He suggested that the recent rise in county court claims may be linked to people using AI to convert oral complaints into structured pleadings capable of being uploaded to online civil claims portals.
Sir Geoffrey stressed that the debate was no longer about whether AI should be involved, but how the justice system should adapt to the fact that it is already being used. HM Courts and Tribunals Service, the judiciary, ombuds bodies and pre-action online services would all need to work together to ensure digitised systems were equipped to handle an increase in AI-generated claims and defences.
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He said AI could be particularly useful for tenants facing possession proceedings without legal representation. Many defendants struggle to articulate their complaints, he said, and AI could help organise their thoughts into a viable legal defence. For rent disputes, AI could analyse complex payment and accounting histories more efficiently than many litigants could manage unaided.
Sir Geoffrey also highlighted the development of a new online platform for possession and property claims, which is being designed by HMCTS to sit alongside the Online Civil Money Claims and Damages Online systems. The first stage is expected next spring. He said the platform must be built on the assumption that AI tools will inevitably assist with the preparation of property claims and may later help resolve them. Agentic AI, in which people instruct AI to perform tasks on their behalf, would also influence mediation and the shaping of settlement outcomes.
While he did not revisit his earlier lectures on machine decision-making, Sir Geoffrey reiterated his view that many property disputes “could be amenable to machine-made decision-making”. He said society would need to consider whether decisions about a person’s right to remain in their home should ever be made by a machine rather than a judge, describing the discussion as more urgent than many realise.
The Online Civil Procedure Rules Committee has begun its first consultation on general principles and core rules. Further rules will apply to specific types of online proceedings. Sir Geoffrey said the resulting Online Procedure Rules would be “far simpler and accessible” than the existing Civil Procedure Rules.