This paper examines how Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Metaverse can enhance legal knowledge, accessibility, and sustainability within criminal justice systems worldwide. In the context of Asia’s rapid digital transformation and its pursuit of regional integration, these technologies represent not merely tools of efficiency, but potential catalysts for a more transparent, participatory, and sustainable model of justice. The first part of the paper explores the role of AI in improving the knowability and predictability of criminal law. It considers the development of judicially trained chatbots - AI systems trained exclusively on transparent, court-sourced datasets - that could enable citizens, lawyers, and judges to identify how similar cases have been decided in the past. Such systems would not replace judicial reasoning but rather democratize access to legal interpretation, allowing citizens to understand complex jurisprudence through explainable language models (LLMs). By promoting consistent and comprehensible case-law reasoning, these tools could reduce informational asymmetries and foster a more sustainable relationship between citizens and justice institutions. The second part focuses on the Metaverse and its potential to reshape procedural and evidentiary practices. Through digital twin environments, virtual “Meta Court Rooms” could host remote hearings, improving access to justice while reducing economic and environmental costs. Similarly, immersive platforms within the Metaverse may facilitate access to restorative justice programs by creating a controlled and less confrontational virtual environment, where victims and offenders can engage in dialogue and reconciliation without the emotional impact and tension often associated with face-to-face encounters. Furthermore, the Metaverse could revolutionize evidentiary analysis by recreating crime scenes to assess causation and intent. The paper presents a pioneering American case in which a judge used the Metaverse to evaluate a self-defense claim under the stand-your-ground law. Ultimately, the research argues that AI and the Metaverse, if governed responsibly, can serve as key instruments for advancing legal knowledge in the pursuit of sustainability, justice, and integration, aligning criminal law systems with the overarching need to protect fundamental rights
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND THE METAVERSE FOR SUSTAINABLE CRIMINAL JUSTICE: ENHANCING LEGAL KNOWLEDGE AND ACCESSIBILITY IN THE DIGITAL ERA
Fabio Coppola
2026
Abstract
This paper examines how Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Metaverse can enhance legal knowledge, accessibility, and sustainability within criminal justice systems worldwide. In the context of Asia’s rapid digital transformation and its pursuit of regional integration, these technologies represent not merely tools of efficiency, but potential catalysts for a more transparent, participatory, and sustainable model of justice. The first part of the paper explores the role of AI in improving the knowability and predictability of criminal law. It considers the development of judicially trained chatbots - AI systems trained exclusively on transparent, court-sourced datasets - that could enable citizens, lawyers, and judges to identify how similar cases have been decided in the past. Such systems would not replace judicial reasoning but rather democratize access to legal interpretation, allowing citizens to understand complex jurisprudence through explainable language models (LLMs). By promoting consistent and comprehensible case-law reasoning, these tools could reduce informational asymmetries and foster a more sustainable relationship between citizens and justice institutions. The second part focuses on the Metaverse and its potential to reshape procedural and evidentiary practices. Through digital twin environments, virtual “Meta Court Rooms” could host remote hearings, improving access to justice while reducing economic and environmental costs. Similarly, immersive platforms within the Metaverse may facilitate access to restorative justice programs by creating a controlled and less confrontational virtual environment, where victims and offenders can engage in dialogue and reconciliation without the emotional impact and tension often associated with face-to-face encounters. Furthermore, the Metaverse could revolutionize evidentiary analysis by recreating crime scenes to assess causation and intent. The paper presents a pioneering American case in which a judge used the Metaverse to evaluate a self-defense claim under the stand-your-ground law. Ultimately, the research argues that AI and the Metaverse, if governed responsibly, can serve as key instruments for advancing legal knowledge in the pursuit of sustainability, justice, and integration, aligning criminal law systems with the overarching need to protect fundamental rightsI documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
