Generative AI can draft a persuasive argument in seconds. It can also cite a judgment that was never delivered. South African courts have now dealt with this more than once, and their message to practitioners is consistent: the name on the filing carries the duty to check every authority in it.
Three cases every firm should know
- Parker v Forsyth NO and Others (2023). Authorities put before the Johannesburg Regional Court could not be found. The court admonished the legal team and warned against relying on "the unverified research of a chatbot".
- Mavundla v MEC: Department of Co-Operative Government and Traditional Affairs, KwaZulu-Natal and Others (2025). Most of the authorities cited in the papers did not exist. The High Court referred the conduct to the Legal Practice Council for investigation.
- Northbound Processing (Pty) Ltd v South African Diamond and Precious Metals Regulator and Others (2025). Heads of argument contained fictitious citations produced with an AI research tool. This matter, too, was referred to the Legal Practice Council.
Similar problems have since surfaced outside the courts. In 2025 the Labour Court considered a disciplinary chairperson's ruling in which two of four cited authorities were fictitious and a third was misrepresented.
What the courts are saying
The courts have not banned AI. They have restated an old duty in a new setting. A practitioner may use any tool, but must read and verify every authority before putting it before a court. Using AI does not reduce that duty, and an honest mistake is no defence when the check was never done.
A practical checklist
- Treat every AI-suggested authority as unverified until you have read it in a recognised source, such as SAFLII or a law report.
- Check the citation, the court, the year and the proposition the case is cited for. A real case cited for something it does not say is still a misstatement.
- Record who checked each authority, and when.
- Do not let a draft leave the firm until the check is complete.
How Legal-OS approaches the problem
Legal-OS is designed around this duty. Every citation comes back safe, escalated or blocked, and a draft containing an unverified authority cannot be exported. An attorney signs off before anything leaves the firm. Legal-OS is at prototype stage; see where it stands.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Read the judgments themselves before relying on them.