The international conference, held at Hassan I University in Setat on 4 and 5 December, brought together distinguished speakers comprising academics, practicing judges, and security experts from Morocco, Qatar, Egypt, Mauritania, the United States, Romania, the United Arab Emirates, France, Iraq, Tunisia, India, Oman, and Saudi Arabia. The event was hosted by the Institute for the Study of Comparative Democratic Transitions (LRTDC), the Faculty of Law and Political Science and the Institute for Artificial Intelligence Research and Applications (AIRA), and the Faculty of Science and Technology.
Through three workshops, we explained the importance of integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into the legal and judicial profession and education, and emphasized that despite AI's ability to empower the judicial sector, it still cannot structurally and ethically replace human intuition and professional conscience.
Discussions at the conference highlighted the urgent need to establish a strong regulatory and ethical framework to prevent technology from evolving from a servant of justice to a dominant force and ensure transparency, accountability and protection of digital rights.
Morocco’s experience in digital and legal education
Abdellatif Moukrim, Rector of Setat's Hassan I University, announced that the university has received government approval to establish a “university institution specialized in AI and digital sciences” with the aim of supporting the justice system and building a national knowledge base to protect digital rights. The initiative aims not only to train technical experts but also to develop professionals who can integrate AI into legal practice.
Hasna Keji, head of the Faculty of Law and Politics, highlighted that the faculty has introduced specialized master's programs such as 'Governance and Cybersecurity' and 'Digitalization and Documentation Technologies' to develop 'digital legal experts'. He stressed that law is not a static collection of documents but the lifeblood of society, and that a new generation of legal professionals must acquire technical and analytical tools to deal with cybercrime and digital transactions. The faculty has hired expert lecturers to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application.
Professor Abdel-Jabbar Arraha, Director of the Institute for Comparative Democratic Transitions, elaborated on the epistemological implications of AI, noting that AI will create a “cognitive break” in traditional legal education. He advocated an interdisciplinary approach that brings together law, political science, sociology, and technology to understand the profound changes that AI brings to social and state structures. Mr. Arak stressed that students are “the driving force and center of this change” and that incorporating technology into legal education must be accompanied by recognition of ethical and social principles to ensure that the next generation can adapt to the digital transformation without losing their humanity and professional sensibilities.
Security and professional approach
Major General Mohsen Bukabza, Head of the Central Judicial Police Department of the Royal Gendarmerie, presented Morocco's efforts in updating information systems and training security personnel to combat cybercrime. He stressed that AI is a tool to enhance “judicial security” and not for arbitrary surveillance.
The representative of the Moroccan Notaries Association pointed out that AI offers an opportunity to improve document preparation processes and speed up procedures while respecting the historical and legal integrity of the profession. The National Association of Judicial Officers stressed that despite technological advances, AI cannot replace the conscience and field experience of experts. They confirmed that collaboration with universities is key to developing a new generation that is technically skilled but retains a human side.
Historical background and practical application
Mohamed Idrissi El Alami Meshichi, professor at Mohammed V University and former Moroccan minister, recalled that Morocco began using AI for text processing in the 1970s and 1980s. He noted that while the private sector has led the way in the practical application of computing, state institutions and security agencies have gradually adopted these tools, stressing the importance of respecting human privacy and protecting individuals from cybercrime and data manipulation.
Professor Abdelkarim Amkhani of the Graduate Institute in Doha, Qatar, said that while there is still debate over the definition of AI, current discussions are focused on modern practical applications such as natural language text generators, which have been in development since 2017. He stressed that these tools remain limited compared to human cognition and stressed the need for national strategies, laws, policies and continuous monitoring, alongside the training of experts.
Tahar Mohamed El-Sayed Mohamed Abou El-Walid, President of the Court of Appeal and Founder of Egypt's Law and Technology Forum, stressed that AI should be integrated into the law curriculum from an early stage in the undergraduate program, and not just at the master's or doctoral level. This approach aims to train judges and lawyers who can handle the latest technology. He also pointed out that it is still impossible to rely completely on AI for drafting legal judgments due to limited data accuracy and unstable databases.
Professor Mohamed Saleh Abbey of Nouakchott University emphasized that AI cannot replace humans in the legal profession, especially in areas that require discretionary judgment. He highlighted the challenges related to data protection and intellectual property, citing the 2014 European Court of Justice judgment on Google Spain, which guarantees individuals the right to request the removal of their personal data from search engines.
Philosophical and regulatory aspects of artificial intelligence
Professor Forrest Catherine Bolan, a prominent American researcher and chair of the AI Group, explored the ontological and philosophical aspects of AI, arguing that the emergence of “superintelligent AI” represents highly advanced cognitive entities capable of understanding all human language and accumulated knowledge. She argued that the concept of “virtual judges and lawyers” is no longer science fiction, but a technological reality that requires a rethinking of the social contract, potentially including non-living entities as participants in social governance, and reflects ideas theorized by Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
Bolan warned of the “dangerous slippery slope” of blind trust in AI, citing cases in British courts where AI errors led to the provision of inaccurate legal information. He emphasized the need to establish professional safeguards and impose strict liability on lawyers who rely on these tools without close human oversight.
Professor Abdel Nasser Jehani from the University of Sharjah addressed AI from the perspective of international law. He said intelligent systems may have important “functional powers” such as collecting and analyzing big data and monitoring human rights violations, but they lack the core capabilities and moral sovereignty of states and international organizations. Jehani stressed that AI is not considered an independent legal entity under international law, but a tool under human responsibility, which would prevent any attempt to evade criminal or civil liability on the basis of “machine error.”
Dragos Karin, a Romanian judge at the Bucharest Court of Appeal, emphasized the human aspect of judicial decision-making. He explained that sentencing is not just a calculation process, but a complex interaction that combines legal text, social context, emotional understanding and mitigating considerations. While AI can provide logical solutions based on data, these solutions may be unjustified from a human perspective, highlighting the importance of using technology only as an aid to streamline procedures and verify information without sitting at the judge's table.
Professor Mohamed Saidi, director of the Mediterranean Center for Artificial Intelligence and Social Innovation, took the discussion to the regulatory level, warning of the “black box” problem of algorithms. He called for a comprehensive regulatory framework inspired by European law and international technical standards (ITU, IEEE) to ensure transparency and fairness, stressing that data quality is the basis of justice, as biased or incorrect data inevitably produces flawed results.
What does this mean and what should I do?
Participants agreed that incorporating AI into legal and judicial education is not a luxury, but essential to keep pace with global developments while preserving human judgment and ensuring compliance with ethical values and legal principles. They emphasized the need for public policies and laws to protect personal data and balance human rights and democracy. They concluded that the future of law and justice depends largely on the ability to adapt to technology and interact consciously and responsibly with new AI developments.
