INTRODUCTION
Nowadays, every person has a digital life. In this type of digital life, AI plays a crucial role. Through AI, different types of work become easier and it is accessible to all. This accessibility assures that the actors in the judiciary branch are held to their duties, reduces the risk of wrong facts provided to the court and improves public trust in the judiciary. Live transcription technology has emerged as a transformative device in enhancing criminal transparency within courtrooms globally, such as in jurisdictions like India. So, our Chief Justice of India, DY Chandrachud, introduced the natural language processing technology to the Supreme Court. This is the first time such a type of technology has been used in the Supreme Court. This technology will record all the oral arguments and discussions in the Court by the lawyers and judges, respectively, and screened by AI. In the case of the political crisis of Maharashtra[1], this transcription was used. Its effect will be impactful if it succeeds in India because it comes with transparency.
LIVE TRANSCRIPTION OF ARGUMENTS
Real-time captioning or live transcription is a technique of turning spoken words into written form as it is being spoken. This procedure normally involves the application of technology such as speech reputation software programs or the services of professional stenographers, particularly since, as we may be speaking, the words may be being spoken. Live transcription is often used in diverse contexts along with Meetings and Conferences, Broadcast and Media, Education, Accessibility and Remote Communication. Live transcription in the matter of arguments refers to the real-time transcription and recording of verbal exchanges or debates at some points of arguments and discussions. This can arise in numerous cases, consisting of legal proceedings, debates, meetings negotiations and academic settings. The motive of stay transcription of arguments is normally to supply an accurate and objective account of what was stated through the argumentative trade. It can help in read-through dialogues to recall the previous discussions, solve conflicts to ensure that everything is clear, and record-keeping, particularly within prison or for archival uses.
AI REVOLUTION IN THE COURTROOM OF INDIA REGARDING LIVE TRANSCRIPTION
Transcription has majorly been a guide operation in the past until the emergence of AI. Today, AI in regulation is applied to the function of automated and correct transcription through speech and voice reputation. The elimination of typing or stenographic companies for negligible instances and the need for e-discovery of criminal constituents has resulted in the recording of many court docket lawsuits on superior structures that accept speakers. After that, these recordings are forwarded to a court proceeding reporting company for certification and criminal translation[2]. It is here that AI, natural language processing (NLP), and speech recognition can help to enhance the transcription method. To resource criminal reasoning AI is also creeping its way into the choose’s chambers as well. Already, the legal personnel of India and Colombia use ChatGPT to expound on their rationale and attempt to answer felony questions. For example, CARA confidently utilizing Case textual content means that this tool aids judges in reading briefs and behaviour legal studies and aids in developing resources for the intended rulings. Legal AI applications can attend to profuse amounts of prisoners’ data, and establish relevant facts, which makes the choice-making method less time-consuming. This is especially imperative because India has a giant quantity of pending instances and a variety of employees to be had inside the legal gadget. All of us have seen stenographers typing away at their laptops, meticulously jotting every phrase because the court trial is going on. This specific pastime requires accord and perseverance to the case since slight variations in the transcription of phrases lead to different interpretations of the courtroom case. AI transcription solutions can listen to spoken phrases and turn them into text simultaneously, thus generating powerful court transcripts. AI transcription also can be applied to capture depositions & various kinds of audio & video testimony, making it easier to build a solid collection of searchable facts regardless of the source of the market.
LEGAL TRANSPARENCY THROUGH LIVE TRANSCRIPTION
Transcription of the arguments in real-time is a good step adopted by the Supreme Court of India that will result in bias-free practices. They also arrive at a time when issues reminiscent of enterprise of circumstances backlog and allegations of escalating synergy between the judiciary and the government are undermining confidence in India’s legal system. More specifically, it is available to all the citizens of the country and can be more useful for law students and practising lawyers in their search and exploration. The Supreme Court had already commenced the live streaming of proceedings in the Constitution bench matters which is a step towards an open court system which was first started in case[3] where the live streaming was initiated by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana in Chief Justice’s Court on YouTube on 26th October 2020 and after that, it was formally used by the other High Court’s Benches.[4]
Here are several advantages of artificial intelligence that can be introduced to the courtroom systems, litigators, and the court device itself which can lead to only transparency. Live transcription in the courtrooms can highly embellish legal transparency in India since they ensure court complaints are accessed in real-time such as public trust, accessibility, efficiency, accountability, accuracy and educational purposes.
CONCLUSION
The appearance of live transcription within the Supreme Court of India is a significant advancement toward increasing the logistics of the maximum judicial body of the nation. Through correct and accurate transcription of the complaints of court proceedings, this measure ensures that the judicial procedure is much more convenient for the public, lawyers and learners. As can be seen, the performance of live transcription has numerous benefits. Many developed countries including, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia have been pioneers in dispensing live transcription within their legal frameworks. These nations have explained and shown that live transcription enhances the accessibility of live court proceedings so that people can gain a real-time understanding of the judicial process. This practice makes the work of all the users – public, media and Legal professionals – easier as they can follow cases more closely as well as appreciate the legal basis of the decisions made. However, problems like the high diversity of transcriptions quality in different states in the United Nations and the need for corrections in real-time have given indications for standardization. The use of live transcription has, however, not been very proactive in the UK, especially when compared to the United States, with live transcription predominantly and mostly employed in the higher courts across the country. Although it has helped in increasing the discovery of information not previously disclosed in the civil suits, issues of privacy and the length of the civil court proceedings, have occasioned a conservative gradual liberalization. Australia has adopted the live transcription tool in different courts, especially in serious offences. While it has helped to increase public engagement, some of the cons are mainly technological in that it may be somewhat a technique to accurately and, in time, transcribe lawsuits. Furthermore, India putting its belief in virtual innovations in the judiciary, the live transcription shows great promise in the way of an honest, on-hand, green judicial system that meets the needs of all its people.
Author(s) Name: Shruti Mittal (Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Law University, Jaipur)
References:
[1] Uddhav Thackeray v. Election Commission of India & Anr. [2023] SC 457
[2] Archak Das, ‘AI in Legal Evidence Analysis: Ethical and Legal Implications’ (March, 2024) <https://www.ijlra.com/paper-details.php?isuur=2346> accessed 6th August, 2024
[3] Swapnil Tripathi v. Union of India [2018] 10 SCC 639
[4] ‘Live Proceedings of High Court Proceedings’ ( e- committee, Supreme Court of India, July 22, 2024) <https://ecommitteesci.gov.in/project/live-streaming-of-high-court-proceedings/#:~:text=Another%20visionary%20initiative%20spearheaded%20by,the%20Chief%20Justice%20of%20India > accessed 6 August 2024
