E. Ferentinou, Artificial Intelligence in Civil Proceedings, 2026

Table of Contents

Preface

Acknowledgements

Table of Abbreviations

Chapter

Introduction

I. The Genesis of a Field

II. The Focus: Artificial Intelligence in Civil Procedural Law

III. The Study’s Trajectory

Chapter

Artificial Intelligence in Law: A Brief History

I. The Enduring Quest to Model Legal Reasoning

II. The Early Years (1970s-1980s)

1. The Rise of Expert Systems (1980s) and the Relevant Core Challenges.

i. The Primacy of Knowledge Representation

ii. The Inherent Ambiguity of Law: The Problem of ‘Open Texture’

iii. The Challenge of Legal Inference

2. The First Generation of Legal AI

III. How to Model Civil Proceedings? (1990s-early 2000s)

1. Modeling Argumentation and Procedure

2. The Intertwining of Rules and Cases and the Representation of Precedents as Formal Rules

IV. Reasoning, Arguments and Summaries (2000s)

1. Advancements in Case-Based Reasoning

2. The Formalisation of Argumentation Schemes

3. Summarisation and Argumentation Mining

V. The Data-Driven Transformation (2010s-early 2020s)

1. Semantic Web Applications in Legal Information Management

2. The Ascendancy of Machine Learning

VI. Interim Conclusion

Chapter

(Legal) AI: The complexities of Its Definition

Ι. Τhe Arduous Τask of Defining Artificial Ιntelligence

1. The OECD’s and the European Union’s AI Act Definitions

2. Better describing AI’s Capabilities Rather Than Defining It?

Chapter

The EU’s AI Act Regulatory Framework on Legal AI

I. Classification of Legal AI as High-Risk, Its Rationale and Exceptions

1. The Rule

2. The Exceptions

II. The Relevant Mandatory Requirements for High-Risk Legal AI

Chapter

Applications of AI in Civil Proceedings

I. Artificial Intelligence as a Progressive Step Forward in the Digitalisation of Civil Litigation

II. The 3-Tier Categorisation of Artificial Intelligence Applications in Civil Justice

1. Organisational Tool in the Administration of Justice (Level 1)

i. Case Entry, Classification, and Preliminary Management

ii. Case Allocation

iii. Transcription of Hearings

iv. Name Recognition Within Judicial Documents

v. Anonymisation of Judicial Decisions

2. Decision-Making Support (Level 2)

i. Legal Research, Information Retrieval and Named Entity Recognition (NER)

ii. Summarisation

iii. Preparation and Drafting of Legal Documents

iv. Evidence and Discovery

v. Legal Judgment Prediction

3. Automation of Judicial Decision-Making (Level 3)

i. Legal Considerations Upon AI as a Decision-Making Body

ii. (The Lack of) Legality of Fully Automated Adjudication, in Light of the Principle of the Protection of Human Dignity

iii. Related ΑΙ Applications

a. Arbitration, Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) and Justice-Apps

b. (Semi-)Automated Payment Orders

Chapter

AI and fair trial rights

I. Introductory remarks

II. The ‘Black-Box’ Problem

1. AI opacity Towards the Right to a Reasoned Judgment

2. The Jurisprudential Response

i. National Courts

ii. CJEU

3. Steps Towards AI’s Explainability

III. Judicial Impartiality, Algorithmic Discrimination & Automation Bias.

1. Τhe Right to an Ιmpartial Τribunal Through the Lens of AI-assisted Adjudication

2. Automation Bias

IV. Adversarial Proceedings and Equality of Arms

1. General Overview

2. Impact on Adversarial Proceedings

3. Effect on the Principle of Equality of Arms

V. The Right to a Public Hearing

1. The Μain Οutline of this Right

2. Implications for the Right to a Public Hearing Through the Automation of Adjudication

VI. Judicial Discretion as an Aspect of the Human Administration of Justice.

VΙI. Future Prospects, Opportunities, and Risks of AI in Civil Justice

1. Predictions for the Future Development of AI in Civil Justice

2. Opportunities and Risks Foreseen

Chapter

Artificial Intelligence in the Greek Civil Justice System

I. A Comprehensive Overview of the Greek Legal Framework on AI (General and Sector-Specified)

1. The Greek Approach on Defining Artificial Intelligence

2. Strategic Documents on AI and Digitalisation of the Greek Civil Justice System

3. National Legislation Governing Artificial Intelligence

i. The General Regulatory Framework: Law 4961/2022

ii. Recent Greek Legislation on Artificial Intelligence in Sector-defined Fields and the Implementation of the AI Act in Those Areas

a. Public Administration and Digital Governance

b. Healthcare

c. Education

iii. With Particular Regard to the Administration of Justice: Laws 4820/2021 and 4871/2021

iv. Impact of the AI Act on the Greek Legal Order

v. Planned Legislative Initiatives Related to AI Regulation in Civil Justice

4. Assessment of the Regulatory Framework for Artificial Intelligence in Civil Justice

i. The Effectiveness of the Current Legal and Regulatory Framework

ii. Gaps of Underregulation and Persisting Areas of Concern

II. Data Protection, Security and Liability for AI Systems in Civil Justice.

1. Data Protection

i. Measures Ensuring Compliance with Data Protection Regulations

ii. Oversight by National Data Protection Authorities

iii. Τhe Relevant Case Law

2. Security of AI Systems

i. EU’s Safeguards Ensuring the Security and Integrity of AI Systems in Civil Justice

ii. National Regulations and Standards for Securing AI Tools

3. Liability for AI-Related Errors

i. General Regulation of Liability for Errors Made by AI Systems in the Judiciary

ii. Special Liability Frameworks for AI-related Mistakes in Civil Proceedings

III. Contemporary, Pilot and Proposed AI Applications within the Greek Legal System

1. AI Applications in Civil Justice

i. Contemporary AI Applications

ii. Pilot AI Applications

iii. Planned or Proposed AI Applications

2. AI in Land Registers

3. AI-Supported E-Services

4. Costs and Efficiency

IV. AI in the Judiciary

1. Soft-Law Instruments

2. International Cooperation

3. Training of Judges and Court Employees

V. Public Perception and Trust of AI Integration in the Greek Justice System

Chapter

Conclusions

Table of Bibliography

Index

Table of Statutes