UK legal press reports calls for judges to stop reproducing AI-fake citations in rulings

AI Model: Unspecified generative AI tool

I. Executive Summary

UK legal trade press reported growing calls for judges to avoid repeating AI-generated fake case citations verbatim when addressing misuse in judgments, due to concerns that reproducing bogus “authorities” could inadvertently seed them into searchable legal records. The development reflects an emerging practice-management concern about how courts should handle hallucinated citations in written decisions.

II. Key Facts

Event/public disclosure date: 16 January 2026 (trade-press report).• Reported concern: quoting non-existent citations in full risks “embedding” misinformation into the legal record.• Framed as a response to recent AI-linked fake-citation problems in litigation practice.

III. Regulatory & Ethical Implications

Could influence judicial writing practice, publication policies, and citation-handling protocols; also strengthens expectations on counsel to implement robust verification before filing, reducing the need for courts to address hallucinated material in judgments.

IV. Media Coverage & Sources

No external sources linked.