Personal data protection in the publication of court decisions: Supreme Court judge participates in the launch of the HELP course

Judge of the Supreme Court in the Administrative Cassation Court Yan Bernaziuk delivered a presentation at the launch of the HELP course “Personal Data Protection in the Publication of Court Decisions”, held in a tutor-led format with the support of the Council of Europe project “HELP (Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals) for Ukraine, including during wartime”, Phase II, in cooperation with the National School of Judges of Ukraine for judges and judicial assistants.

The aim of the course is to highlight the importance of data protection when publishing court decisions, to explain the concept of personal data, as well as the methods of its collection, use, and protection through various mechanisms and tools. The course is designed to achieve a range of learning objectives – from the ability to draft or review court decisions in compliance with data protection requirements to knowledge of existing procedural and practical legal remedies and how to apply them.

In his speech, Yan Bernaziuk focused on ensuring the right to privacy in the context of integrating artificial intelligence into the administration of justice. According to him, Ukraine is among the countries with an exceptionally large volume of court decisions available in open access, which further underscores the importance of proper personal data protection when they are published. Ukrainian judges work under intense pressure, as the law requires decisions to be published within tight deadlines. This raises the question: “Is it possible, within such a short time frame, to properly redact texts in order to prevent the disclosure of sensitive data?”.

The speaker drew attention to the EU Report on Ukraine for 2025, which noted progress in the field of AI while also highlighting existing challenges. He emphasized that current challenges require a balanced approach from both the legislator and the judiciary in implementing AI technologies.

The judge also stressed the importance of protecting privacy during the development of AI systems. In particular, he referred to the Cybersecurity Recommendations for information and communication systems using artificial intelligence technologies (approved by Order No. 154 of the State Service of Special Communications Administration dated February 23, 2026). Yan Bernaziuk also recalled the Commentary to the Code of Judicial Ethics. In particular, Article 16 of this document directly regulates the use of AI by judges in the administration of justice.

In addition, the speaker underscored the importance of adhering to the principles of confidentiality and security. In his view, the implementation of AI requires the protection of personal data. Every judge must have adequate confidence in the security of the tools they use in their work.

As of early 2026, in Ukraine – as in most countries of the world – there is no local and fully secure AI system certified for working with judicial documents. The secure processing of case materials requires sovereign AI. As an alternative, experts consider the use of open-source models deployed on standalone hardware without Internet access. This could ensure confidentiality; however, such solutions have not yet gained widespread practical application.

For more details, see Yan Bernaziuk’s presentation at the following link: https://court.gov.ua/storage/portal/supreme/prezent2026/179_Privacy_Rights_in_AI_Justice_bernaziuk.pdf

Photo courtesy of the organisers.