Quebec Courts Draw a Hard Line on Generative AI for Judges
On August 31, 2026, the chief judges of Quebec’s four judicial courts: the Court of Appeal, the Superior Court, the Court of Québec and the Municipal Courts, signed a common set of guidelines on the use of generative AI by judges. The courts announced them publicly on September 4.
The document is short: seven pages of guidelines plus an optional self-assessment grid. Its position is not subtle. The guidelines state outright that they do not encourage adoption of generative AI. They exist to fence in how it might be used, and to mark the lines judges should not cross.
For anyone who practices in Canadian courts or builds legal technology, this is one of the most detailed judicial statements on AI in the country so far. Here is what it says, and what it means.
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