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 September 30, 2026
- Citation
- Order on Artificial Intelligence (Cases Assigned to Judge Vaden)
- Order date
- June 8, 2023
Status and former requirement
No longer in force (lapsed); this order does not state current filing practice. While it was operative it required: 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 the order required while in force
- 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 Rules 5(g) and 73.2(c)(2), not solely in hallucination risk.
- Judge Vaden resigned from the Court of International Trade on July 7, 2025; the order governs only cases assigned to him.
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. Judge Vaden resigned from the court on July 7, 2025 (Federal Judicial Center), so no case is now assigned to him and the order has lapsed. It was never withdrawn. As issued, 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 order cites USCIT Rules 5(g) and 73.2(c)(2); the Court of International Trade routinely handles business proprietary information, and prompts submitted to a third-party AI service can constitute disclosure to an “unauthorized party.” The certification requirement is a substantive confidentiality safeguard rather than 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, and the Court of International Trade has adopted none. Judges Claire R. Kelly and Jane A. Restani continue to apply the same disclosure-and-certification text in their own cases (Kelly, Restani). 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
How this order changed
Dated record of this order's own lifecycle. Where it was amended or withdrawn, the badge shows its standing after that step.
- activeJudge Vaden issued the Order on Artificial Intelligence for cases assigned to him. source
- lapsedJudge Vaden resigned from the Court of International Trade (Federal Judicial Center: 'Service terminated on July 7, 2025, due to resignation'). No order withdrew the order, which governed only cases assigned to him. source