Legal AI deadlines and court rules shift in July

The EU’s Digital Omnibus on AI reset the AI Act timetable after being signed on 8 July 2026. Article 50 transparency duties and Commission enforcement powers over general-purpose AI models still take effect on 2 August 2026, while high-risk obligations move to 2 December 2027 for stand-alone Annex III systems and 2 August 2028 for Annex I product-embedded systems.

India’s Supreme Court set aside tribunal orders that relied on non-existent, AI-generated precedents, treating unverified AI citations as misconduct for advocates and a serious lapse for adjudicators. Draft court regulations would keep AI strictly assistive, bar opaque systems from processes affecting rights or liberty, and prohibit risk scoring for bail eligibility, flight risk, recidivism or witness credibility.

Commercial activity also accelerated. Norm Ai raised a $120 million Series C at a $1.2 billion valuation, while Intapp made Celeste generally available and Litera prepared Lito for broader release. Publishers including Hachette Book Group, Cengage Learning and Elsevier sued Google over Gemini training, while a law department survey found 23% have fully operationalised generative AI, 33% report cost savings and 64% cite tangible non-financial benefits.