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Artificial Intelligence and Legal Transformation in the Global South: Comparative legal analysis and institutional design — book cover

Open access · 2026

Artificial Intelligence and Legal Transformation in the Global South

Comparative legal analysis and institutional design

By Muhammad Faiq Butt; Muhammad Sohail Asghar; Hafsa Naz

Publisher
Lumina Literati Publishing
Publication
2026
ISBN
978-627-7813-67-3
DOI
10.65758/isbn.9786277813673
Format
Open-access PDF · 232 pages
Licence
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
Read onlineDownload PDFCite this book

Book overview

Artificial Intelligence and Legal Transformation in the Global South examines when AI assistance becomes consequential control in legal institutions, how legal systems distribute that control, and what an affected person needs to challenge it. It is written for scholars of law and technology, lawyers, courts, public authorities and those designing or procuring legal services.

Across five chapters, the book connects legal authority and institutional capacity with professional and judicial practice, data governance, automated decisions, evidence, liability and remedies. It also examines the practical demands of procurement, staffing, security, evaluation and exit.

Its central argument is that accountable legal transformation must connect consequential computational uses to lawful responsibility, usable evidence and effective correction. Selected domestic legal comparisons are paired with proposed institutional forms, model clauses and clearly identified constructed examples.

Inside the book

  1. 01

    Legal Systems and the Conditions of AI Adoption

    1.1 AI Systems and the Meaning of Legal Transformation
    1.2 Legal Pluralism and Institutional Variation
    1.3 Legal Authority for Adopting and Using AI
    1.4 Comparative Research Design and Source Assessment
    1.5 Criteria for Evaluating Legal and Institutional Change

  2. 02

    AI in Legal Practice and the Administration of Justice

    2.1 Legal Research, Drafting, and Document Review
    2.2 Court Administration and Case Management
    2.3 Judicial Reasoning and AI-Assisted Decision-Making
    2.4 Legal Aid, Language Access, and Public Legal Information
    2.5 Professional Duties and Changes in Legal Work

  3. 03

    Data Governance and Automated Decisions

    3.1 Legal Bases for Data Collection and Reuse
    3.2 Legal Data, Language Coverage, and Intellectual Property
    3.3 Public Benefits and Identity: Historical Administrative Analogues for AI
    3.4 Automated Decisions in Employment, Credit, and Digital Platforms
    3.5 Cross-Border Processing and Technology Supply Arrangements

  4. 04

    Liability, Evidence, and Legal Remedies

    4.1 Allocation of Responsibility Across AI Systems
    4.2 Notice, Reasons, and Access to Decision Records
    4.3 AI-Related Evidence and Standards of Proof
    4.4 Individual Review and Corrective Remedies
    4.5 Collective Harm and Institutional Enforcement

  5. 05

    Regulation, Procurement, and Institutional Implementation

    5.1 Regulatory Instruments and Institutional Mandates
    5.2 Procurement Requirements and Contractual Safeguards
    5.3 Impact Assessment and Local Validation
    5.4 Staffing, Training, and Financial Planning
    5.5 Evaluation, Incident Response, and System Withdrawal

Conclusion · References

About the authors

Muhammad Faiq Butt

Muhammad Faiq Butt is an Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Okara, with almost twelve years of teaching and research experience in legal education. His academic specialization is in criminal law, providing a strong foundation for examining emerging technologies, legal responsibility, institutional accountability, and the administration of justice.

His contribution to Artificial Intelligence and Legal Transformation in the Global South reflects his interest in how technological developments are reshaping legal institutions, regulatory practices, and enforcement mechanisms. His expertise in criminal law offers valuable insights into the implications of artificial intelligence for policing, automated decision-making, evidentiary processes, and legal responsibility.

He also attended a 15-day international training program in China titled “Future-Ready Academic Leadership: Governance, Innovation, and AI Integration in Higher Education,” hosted by Tianjin Foreign Studies University, China. Within the book’s comparative framework, he contributes to interdisciplinary analysis of technological change across Global South jurisdictions.

Email: faiqbutt55@gmail.com

Muhammad Sohail Asghar

Muhammad Sohail Asghar is a Tenured Associate Professor of Law with more than fourteen years of teaching and research experience and an academic background in law spanning three countries: Pakistan, the United Kingdom, and Malaysia. His international legal education provides a comparative foundation for examining diverse legal systems and the evolving relationship between law and technology.

His research focuses on the intersection of law and technology, particularly the legal, constitutional, and institutional challenges arising from artificial intelligence and emerging digital technologies. In Artificial Intelligence and Legal Transformation in the Global South, he contributes a comparative and interdisciplinary perspective to regulatory diffusion, legal adaptation, institutional implementation, and transnational AI governance.

His scholarly interests encompass AI regulation, privacy, equality, legal accountability, and the transformation of legal frameworks in response to technological developments across diverse legal and institutional contexts.

Email: muhammad.s.asghar@gmail.com · ORCID: 0009-0002-5317-4920

Hafsa Naz

Hafsa Naz is an academician and technology researcher with an educational background in computer science and almost a decade of teaching and research experience. She has participated in numerous interdisciplinary national and international conferences, contributing to academic dialogue across technology and related fields.

Her research focuses on the development and deployment of artificial intelligence technologies, including their technical specifications, system architecture, and operational characteristics. With her foundation in computer science, she brings a technical and interdisciplinary perspective to the study of AI-related legal transformation.

In Artificial Intelligence and Legal Transformation in the Global South, her expertise is particularly relevant to examining AI infrastructure, technical standards, system deployment, and technological dependencies that shape institutional and legal responses. Her contribution supports an integrated understanding of how technical capabilities, implementation conditions, and regulatory requirements interact across diverse Global South jurisdictions.

Email: hnhafsa777@gmail.com · ORCID: 0009-0008-9426-2429

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232 pages · English · PDF

Artificial Intelligence and Legal Transformation in the Global South

© 2026 Muhammad Faiq Butt, Muhammad Sohail Asghar, and Hafsa Naz. The authors retain 100% copyright ownership of this work. Published open access under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) licence. Sharing is permitted for noncommercial purposes with attribution; adapted versions may not be distributed under this licence.

Cite this book

Butt, M. F., Asghar, M. S., & Naz, H. (2026). Artificial intelligence and legal transformation in the Global South: Comparative legal analysis and institutional design. Lumina Literati Publishing. https://doi.org/10.65758/isbn.9786277813673

References

The complete bibliography from the book, with links to the cited sources.

View all 54 references

Cases

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  12. India. (2023). Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (Act No. 47 of 2023). https://www.indiacode.nic.in/indiacode/bitstream/123456789/20063/1/aa202347.pdf
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  16. Ministry of Home Affairs, India. (2024, February 23). Notification S.O. 849(E): Commencement of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam on July 1, 2024. https://www.mha.gov.in/sites/default/files/BharatiyaSakshyaAdhiniyam_24022024.pdf
  17. Pakistan. (2004). Public Procurement Rules, 2004 (S.R.O. 432(I)/2004). Public Procurement Regulatory Authority. Historical text. https://epms.ppra.gov.pk/public-media?file=L3BkZi9wcHJhLXJ1bGVzLnBkZg%3D%3D
  18. Pakistan. (2010). Benazir Income Support Programme Act, 2010 (Act XVIII of 2010). Gazette of Pakistan, August 18. https://bisp.gov.pk/SiteImage/Downloads/BISP_ACT_2010.pdf
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  27. South Africa. (2013). Employment Equity Amendment Act 47 of 2013. Government Gazette 37238, January 16, 2014. https://www.labour.gov.za/DocumentCenter/Acts/Employment%20Equity/Amendment/Employment%20Equity%20Amendment%20Act%2047%20of%202013.pdf
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Scholarship

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Technical policy and other materials

  1. African Union Commission. (2024). Continental artificial intelligence strategy: Harnessing AI for Africa’s development and prosperity. https://au.int/en/documents/20240809/continental-artificial-intelligence-strategy
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  3. Clark, J., Haseeb, M., Jalal, A., Siddiqi, B., & Vyborny, K. (2022, March). Using biometrics to deliver cash payments to women: Early results from an impact evaluation in Pakistan. World Bank, ID4D Evidence Note. https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/099155004142238180/pdf/P1763410d1e1af00108e170e5754d04fed9.pdf
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