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The Qatar International Court and Dispute Resolution Centre released Practice Direction No. 1 of 2026 accompanied by detailed guidance on artificial intelligence to establish a framework for its responsible application in legal matters. The rules apply to every litigant and representative appearing before the QFC Court or the Regulatory Tribunal and stress the need for accuracy in all submissions. QICDRC officials noted that while AI can reduce costs and improve effectiveness in case preparation those using it retain full responsibility for verifying outputs against reliable sources.
Court users must recognise that generative AI tools can produce false citations or misstate the law according to the QICDRC direction. The guidance explicitly bars sole reliance on artificial intelligence for any material filed with the court or tribunal. Representatives are required to check all AI-assisted work thoroughly before presentation and to maintain secure practices when handling case information.
This step follows a 2025 Dubai case in which a lawyer faced contempt proceedings for submitting fictitious precedents generated by AI a situation that highlighted risks across the wider region. A global database of AI hallucination cases launched in April 2025 by researchers at HEC Paris and Sciences Po has since recorded dozens of similar incidents that prompted sanctions from judges and warnings from bar associations.[[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_intelligence) Qatar’s move forms part of a broader GCC trend that has seen the number of AI governance documents rise steadily with four new instruments issued in 2024 alone according to an analysis published in the Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research.[[2]](https://www.jair.org/index.php/jair/article/download/17619/27175)
Documents containing AI-generated elements must be clearly labelled under the new rules and those responsible must stand ready to explain their verification methods. Courts may request affidavits confirming the checks performed and can require disclosure to other parties where fairness demands it. The direction stops short of mandating automatic pre-emptive declarations of AI use yet reserves the right to seek such information if necessary.
Legal teams are instructed not to enter confidential or privileged data into AI platforms unless they can guarantee its protection from unauthorised access. The QICDRC guidance underlines that these precautions protect both the integrity of proceedings and the interests of all participants. Similar regulatory attention to AI in judicial settings has appeared across the Gulf where governments continue to expand policy frameworks without yet enacting comprehensive standalone AI legislation.
Thomson Reuters Institute research from mid-2025 found that courts globally have adopted AI slowly with many jurisdictions still prohibiting its use in core business yet Qatar has chosen a proactive path that welcomes the technology under clear controls. The QICDRC stated that its framework seeks to balance innovation with the fundamental duty of accuracy in every filing before its benches.
