DataJust: Towards A Predictive Justice?

Published date10 June 2020
AuthorMs Charlotte Desfontaines
Subject MatterLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration, Trials & Appeals & Compensation, Personal Injury
Law FirmSoulier Avocats

Decree of March 27, 20201 provides for the implementation of an algorithm called DataJust for a period of two years. This algorithm aims in particular at developing an indicative baseline of compensation for personal injuries.

This baseline system will be made available not only to judges, but also to lawyers, insurers and, above all, victims, in order to assess the amount of compensation to which the latter may be entitled, with the aim of encouraging out-of-court settlements.

Under the cloak of predictivity and reduction of the number of disputes brought to court, the implementation of the DataJust algorithm will, among other things, make it possible to develop a database grouping together allocated compensation amounts according to the type of injury/damage suffered and their seriousness. It is primarily designed as a tool for analyzing case law data, originating whether from judicial or administrative courts, relating to compensation for personal injuries.

The aim of this baseline system is to offer judges, insurers, lawyers, compensation funds and victims not only a better financial assessment of personal injurie but also a guarantee of equal and fair treatment of personal injury compensation claims.

The team of "general interest entrepreneurs" entrusted with the project by the Civil Affairs and Seals Directorate of the French Ministry of Justice2 indicated that, thanks to this algorithm, victims "would be able to compare, with full knowledge of the facts, the compensation offers of insurers and the amounts they could obtain in court; lawyers would have reliable information enabling them to advise their clients; magistrates would have a tool to help them quantify the damages thanks to an easier access to finely targeted case law data."

The Decree provides that the data to be included in the DataJust database will be extracted from appellate court decisions handed down between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2019, by both administrative and civil courts in disputes relating solely to compensation for personal injuries. Various information may then be extracted, in particular the last names and first names of the natural persons mentioned in the decision, certain identification elements such as gender, date of birth or place of residence, but above all data and information relating to the injuries suffered.

What are the risks associated with the implementation of such an algorithm?

First of all, the benefits that such system may have should be...

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