A Brazilian Bar Association in Pará (OAB-PA) precautionarily suspended, for 30 days, two lawyers investigated for allegedly trying to manipulate artificial intelligence systems during a judicial process in the state.
The decision was signed, this Thursday (14), by the president of the section, Sávio Barreto, after the national repercussion of the case, which involves the use of a technique called “prompt injection”, a mechanism that inserts hidden commands into documents to influence.
According to OAB-PA, the suspension has a preventive nature and seeks to preserve the credibility of the legal profession and the justice system.
The entity highlighted that the measure does not represent definitive punishment and that professionals will have the right to full defense and contradictory proceedings.
HAS CNN Brazilone of the lawyers stated that she has not yet been officially notified of the OAB-PA decision.
“I have not yet been notified of the decision, furthermore, when I am given the opportunity to contradict myself, following due legal process, I will finally be able to express myself about these allegations.”, he declared.
According to the decision, the lawyers had inserted hidden instructions in an initial petition to be used in the future in the analysis of the process. In practice, the objective would be to make the AI favor the arguments presented by the authors of the action.
The technique, known as “command injection” or “prompt injection”, works as a type of guidance hidden within the legal text. These commands can be interpreted by AI systems that automatically read the document, changing or directing the way the content is analyzed.
In the opinion of the OAB-PA, the alleged conduct represents “serious procedural disloyalty”, mainly because it could harm the performance of the opposing party’s defense.
In his vote, the president of the section stated that public trust is one of the pillars of law and that situations like this can cause damage to the institutional image of the profession.
In addition to the precautionary suspension, the Order ordered the case to be sent to the OAB-PA Ethics and Discipline Court (TED), responsible for investigating possible ethical-disciplinary infractions. The procedure will be carried out in secrecy, as provided for in the Law Firm Statute.
The decision will still be analyzed by the Full Sectional Council of the OAB-PA. Before the end of the suspension period, lawyers will be able to present an oral defense and contest the measure.
Remember the case
The case gained national attention after the Regional Labor Court of the 8th Region identified the presence of hidden commands in the petition.
At the time, the lawyers were accused of litigating in bad faith.
