CANADARegulation
Canadian Judicial Council updates AI guidelines for judges and issues deepfake evidence guidance
The Canadian Judicial Council on October 20, 2026, released a second edition of its guidelines on judges' use of artificial intelligence and new guidance on evaluating digital media evidence that may be AI-fabricated or altered. The 2026 guidelines replace the 2024 edition, shift from flagging risks to encouraging AI use within guardrails, and list appropriate, high-risk and inappropriate uses.
Text (Canadian Lawyer) → · Canadian Judicial Council
Key points
- An individual judge's AI use typically needs no more disclosure than use of law clerks, translation software or spell checkers.Canadian Lawyer
- Courts as institutions must be transparent about which AI tools they use, how they were evaluated and what safeguards apply.Canadian Lawyer
- The evidence guidance includes checklists for acknowledged, unacknowledged and indirect AI evidence.Canadian Lawyer
- It flags as an equally significant risk that authentic evidence could be wrongly excluded as fabricated, the so-called deepfake defense.Canadian Lawyer
- It cites R. v. Medow, where an Ontario court rejected unsupported claims that police bodycam footage was manipulated.Canadian Lawyer
- Judges are urged to weigh access to justice where self-represented or low-income parties cannot afford forensic experts.Canadian Lawyer
Sources2 articles across 2 outlets
Canadian Judicial Council
Canadian Lawyer
Filed under
RegulationCanadaGuidelines for the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Canadian Courts (Second Edition, 2026)Guidance for Canadian Judges on Evaluating Digital Media Evidence (2026)LitigationProfessional responsibilityTechnologyFor practitionersFor governanceFor vendors