U.S. Court of International Trade: Order on Artificial Intelligence (Cases Assigned to Ju…
Judge Stephen Alexander Vaden · U.S. Court of International Trade
Verified April 27, 2026
- Citation
- Order on Artificial Intelligence (Cases Assigned to Judge Vaden)
- Order date
- June 8, 2023
Summary
Any submission in a case assigned to Judge Vaden that contains text drafted with the assistance of a generative AI program (including but not limited to ChatGPT and Google Bard) must include a disclosure notice identifying the program used and the specific portions of text so drafted.
What does the order require?
- Any submission in a case assigned to Judge Vaden that contains text drafted with the assistance of a generative AI program (including but not limited to ChatGPT and Google Bard) must include a disclosure notice identifying the program used and the specific portions of text so drafted.
- The submission must also include a certification that the use of such program has not resulted in the disclosure of any confidential or business proprietary information to any unauthorized party.
- Concern is grounded primarily in confidentiality risk under USCIT Rule 73.2(c)(2), not solely in hallucination risk.
Practice areas: international trade, federal civil
What the order requires
Judge Stephen Alexander Vaden of the U.S. Court of International Trade issued this order on June 8, 2023. It requires that any submission in a case assigned to Judge Vaden containing text drafted with the assistance of a generative AI program be accompanied by two things:
- A disclosure notice identifying the program used and the specific portions of text drafted with its assistance.
- A certification that the use of the program did not result in the disclosure of any confidential or business proprietary information to any unauthorized party.
Why the confidentiality framing matters
Unlike most federal AI standing orders, which are framed around hallucination and Rule 11 verification, the Vaden order is grounded primarily in confidentiality. The Court of International Trade routinely handles business proprietary information under USCIT Rule 73.2(c)(2), and prompts submitted to a third-party AI service can constitute disclosure to an “unauthorized party.” Practitioners should treat the certification requirement as a substantive confidentiality safeguard, not a pro forma checkbox.
Scope
The order applies to any submission in any case assigned to Judge Vaden. It is not a court-wide rule. The Court of International Trade also publishes broader court-wide guidance (March 21, 2025) at the secondary URL, which directs practitioners back to individual chambers procedures.
Primary source
Order PDF: https://www.cit.uscourts.gov/sites/cit/files/Order%20on%20Artificial%20Intelligence.pdf
Court-wide AI guidance: https://www.cit.uscourts.gov/news/use-artificial-intelligence-practice-court