An international conference held at Hassan I University in Settat December 4 and 5, brought together distinguished speakers composed of academics, practicing judges, and security experts from Morocco, Qatar, Egypt, Mauritania, the United States, Romania, United Arab Emirates, France, Iraq, Tunisia, India, Oman, and Saudi Arabia. The event was organized by the Laboratory for Research on Compared Democratic Transition (LRTDC), the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences and Artificial Intelligence Research and Applications Laboratory (AIRA), and the Faculty of Sciences and Techniques.
Through three workshops, the importance of integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into legal and judicial professions and education, while emphasizing that, despite its capacity to empower the judicial sector, AI remains structurally and ethically incapable of replacing human intuition and professional conscience.
The conference discussions highlighted the urgent need to establish robust regulatory and ethical frameworks to prevent technology from evolving from a servant of justice into a dominating force, ensuring transparency, accountability, and the protection of digital rights.
Moroccan Experience in Digital and Legal Education
Abdellatif Moukrim, President of Hassan I University in Settat, announced that the university obtained government approval to establish a “university institution specialized in AI and digital sciences,” aimed at building a national knowledge base to support the justice system and protect digital rights. The initiative is designed not only to train technical specialists, but also to develop experts capable of integrating AI into legal practice.
Hasna Keji, Dean of the Faculty of Legal and Political Sciences, highlighted the faculty’s adoption of specialized master’s programs such as “Governance and Cybersecurity” and “Digitalization and Documentation Techniques” to train “digital legal professionals.” She emphasized that law is not a static set of texts but the lifeblood of society, requiring the new generation of legal professionals to master technical and analytical tools to address cybercrime and digital transactions. The faculty has recruited specialized instructors to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application.
Professor Abdeljabbar Arrach, Director of the Research Laboratory on Compared Democratic Transition, elaborated on the epistemological implications of AI, noting that it creates a “cognitive rupture” with traditional legal education. He advocated for an interdisciplinary approach blending law, political science, sociology, and technology to understand the profound transformations AI imposes on societal and state structures. Arrach underscored that students represent the “fuel and center of this change,” and that integrating technology into legal education must be accompanied by awareness of ethical and social principles to ensure that the next generation adapts to digital transformations without losing human and professional sensitivity.
Security and Professional Approaches
Major General Mohsen Boukhabza, Head of the Central Judicial Police Division of the Royal Gendarmerie, presented Morocco’s efforts in updating information systems and training security personnel to combat cybercrime. He emphasized that AI is a tool to strengthen “judicial security,” not for arbitrary surveillance.
The representative of the Moroccan Association of Notaries noted that AI presents an opportunity to improve documentation processes and expedite procedures while respecting the historical and legal integrity of the profession. The National Body of Judicial Officers stressed that, despite technological advancements, AI cannot replace professional conscience and field experience. They affirmed that collaboration with universities is key to training a new generation that is technologically proficient yet retains its human dimension.
Historical Context and Practical Applications
Mohamed Idrissi El Alami Mechichi, Professor at Mohammed V University and former Moroccan minister, recalled that Morocco began using AI in text processing during the 1970s and 1980s. He noted that the private sector led in practical applications of computing, while state institutions and security agencies gradually adopted these tools, highlighting the importance of respecting human privacy and protecting individuals from cybercrime and data manipulation.
Abdelkarim Amkany, Professor at the Graduate Institute in Doha, Qatar, clarified that definitions of AI remain debated, but current discussions focus on modern practical applications, such as natural language text generators that have been developing since 2017. He stressed that these tools remain limited compared to human cognition and emphasized the need for national strategies, laws, policies, and continuous monitoring, alongside the training of specialized experts.
Tahar Mohamed El Sayed Mohamed Abou El Walid, President of the Court of Appeal and founder of the “Law and Technology” forum in Egypt, stressed that AI should be integrated into legal curricula from the earliest years of undergraduate studies, not only at the master’s or doctoral level. This approach aims to prepare judges and lawyers capable of handling modern technologies. He also noted that full reliance on AI for drafting legal rulings remains impossible due to limitations in data accuracy and unstable databases.
Mohamed Saleh Abeih, Professor at the University of Nouakchott, emphasized that AI cannot replace humans in legal and judicial professions, particularly in areas requiring discretionary judgment. He highlighted challenges related to data protection and intellectual property, citing the 2014 European Court of Justice ruling “Google Spain,” which guarantees individuals the right to request the removal of personal data from search engines.
Philosophical and Regulatory Dimensions of Artificial Intelligence
Professor Forrest Katherine Bolan, a prominent American researcher and Chair of the AI Group, explored the ontological and philosophical dimensions of AI, arguing that the emergence of “superintelligent AI” represents a highly advanced cognitive entity capable of comprehending all human languages and accumulated knowledge. She asserted that the notion of “virtual judges or lawyers” is no longer science fiction but a technological reality that necessitates a rethinking of the social contract, potentially including a non-biological entity as a participant in societal governance, echoing ideas theorized by Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
Bolan warned against the “dangerous slippery slope” of blind trust in AI, citing cases in British courts where AI errors led to the provision of incorrect legal information. She stressed the necessity of establishing professional safeguards and enforcing strict accountability for lawyers who rely on these tools without rigorous human oversight.
Professor Abdel Nasser Jehani from the University of Sharjah addressed AI from an international legal perspective. He noted that intelligent systems may possess significant “functional powers,” such as collecting and analyzing big data or monitoring human rights violations, but they lack the core competencies and ethical sovereignty that states and international organizations possess. Jehani emphasized that AI cannot be considered an independent legal actor under international law, remaining instead a tool under human responsibility, thereby preventing any attempt to evade criminal or civil liability on the grounds of “machine error.”
Romanian Judge Dragos Calin from the Court of Appeal in Bucharest emphasized the human aspect of judicial decision-making. He explained that judgment is not a mere computational process but a complex interaction that combines legal texts, social context, emotional understanding, and consideration of mitigating circumstances. While AI can provide logical solutions based on data, these solutions may be unjust from a human perspective, highlighting the importance of using technology solely as an aid to streamline procedures and verify information without taking the judge’s seat.
Professor Mohamed Saidi, Director of the Mediterranean Center for Artificial Intelligence and Social Innovation, brought the discussion to a regulatory level, warning of the “black box” problem in algorithms. He called for comprehensive regulatory frameworks inspired by European legislation and international technical standards (ITU, IEEE) to ensure transparency and fairness, emphasizing that data quality is the cornerstone of justice, as biased or erroneous data inevitably produces flawed outcomes.
What this means, and what should be done
Participants agreed that integrating AI into legal and judicial education is not a luxury but an imperative to keep pace with global developments, while preserving human judgment and ensuring adherence to ethical values and legal principles. They emphasized the need for public policies and legislation to protect personal data and balance human rights with democracy. The legal and judicial future, they concluded, will closely depend on the ability to adapt to technology and interact consciously and responsibly with emerging AI developments.
