With the advancement of artificial intelligence (“AI”) technologies, significant transformations have occurred in various sectors, including the legal field. Contracts generated by AI provide substantial advantages, particularly in accelerating automation processes and reducing human error. However, the legal validity of such contracts remains a subject of debate.
According to the Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098 (“TCO“), for a contract to be valid, the parties must have the capacity to enter into contracts, the subject and form of the contract must comply with the law, and the parties’ declarations of intent must be made freely. The primary point of contention in AI-generated contracts is determining to whom the declaration of intent belongs and whether this declaration is legally valid. Since AI is not a legal entity, its ability to create binding agreements raises significant legal concerns.
Under the current Turkish legal framework, AI is not recognized as an independent legal or natural person. Consequently, the legal validity of contracts drafted by AI is contingent upon their approval by a legal or natural person. In other words, for AI-generated contract texts to gain legal validity, the parties involved must reflect their intent in these contracts and explicitly approve them.
The use of AI in commercial contracts and automated transaction processes is becoming increasingly widespread. For instance, in the banking and insurance sectors, AI-generated standard contracts provide significant advantages in terms of speed and efficiency. However, it is crucial that AI serves merely as a tool in these cases and that the final review of contract texts is conducted by humans. A major legal concern is determining responsibility in cases where AI-generated contracts contain errors or lead to misunderstandings between the parties.
Under Turkish law, defects of consent, such as misrepresentation, mistake, or fraud, can render a contract invalid. Therefore, if a party suffers harm due to an error or misdirection in an AI-generated contract, the annulment or invalidity of the contract may be considered. In such cases, the general provisions of the TCO can be applied to nullify the contract due to errors in the AI-generated content.
In conclusion, AI-generated contracts do not possess direct legal validity under Turkish law. However, they can be legally enforceable if explicitly approved by the parties. To ensure that legal regulations keep pace with technological advancements, legislative measures should be implemented to harmonize AI with legal processes. In the future, defining the legal status of AI and clearly determining the validity of such contracts will be crucial for both practitioners and legal professionals.
