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Login to watch this video if you have a subscription. Learn more about subscriptions.The presentation examines how artificial intelligence intersects with the rules of civil procedure and the admissibility of AI-generated evidence in Canadian courts. Justice Peter Lauwers of the Ontario Court of Appeal, Chair of the Civil Rules Committee and its Subcommittee on Artificial Intelligence, discusses proposed rule changes designed to address authenticity, reliability, and validity concerns arising from AI-produced materials such as reports, data analyses, and reconstructions. These proposed rules require parties to identify the AI software used, disclose training data sources, and demonstrate the validity and reliability of outputs before evidence is admitted. Justice Lauwers explains the distinction between acknowledged and unacknowledged AI-generated evidence and emphasizes the dangers of deepfakes, hallucinated citations, and fabricated studies.
He also outlines how courts may use the “probative versus prejudicial” test to determine admissibility and references U.S. Daubert standards and the Canadian Mohan and JLJ decisions as foundations for assessing scientific and technical reliability. The session highlights the evolving definition of AI in legal contexts, the challenge of transparency in “black box” systems, and the importance of judicial discretion, expert interpretation, and measured rule development.
Overall, the presentation provides a first-hand view from the Ontario Court of Appeal on how the justice system is adapting procedural rules to ensure fairness, authenticity, and accountability as AI evidence becomes increasingly prevalent in civil litigation.
Justice Lauwers was appointed to the Court of Appeal for Ontario on December 13, 2012, having served on the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario in Central East Region since July 2008. He presided over cases in all the areas of the Superior Court’s operations including civil, criminal, family, and class actions. He also served on the Divisional Court. Before being appointed, Justice Lauwers was a partner at Miller Thomson LLP. He practised in the areas of civil litigation, constitutional law, human rights, and administrative law including education, municipal and labour law and appeared at every level of court including the Supreme Court of Canada. As a lawyer Justice Lauwers lectured in his areas of expertise to, among others, the Canadian Institute, Insight, the Canadian Bar Association, the Ontario Bar Association, the Centre for Cultural Renewal, McGill University, and the Saskatchewan Institute of Public Policy, and published widely. Since his judicial appointment Justice Lauwers has spoken at events sponsored by the Ontario Bar Association, the Advocates’ Society, the Ontario Trial Lawyers’ Association, the Canadian Defence Lawyers, Osgoode Hall Law School, the Medico-Legal Society of Toronto, the Ontario Human Rights Commission, and the National Judicial Institute. Justice Lauwers received a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Toronto in 1978 and a Master of Laws from Osgoode Hall Law School of York University in 1983. He was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1980.
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