On 7 July 2026, the UK Jurisdiction Taskforce (UKJT), an initiative of LawTech UK supported by the Ministry of Justice and chaired by Sir Geoffrey Vos MR, published its Legal Statement on Liability for AI Harms under the private law of England and Wales. The statement is advisory in nature: it is not a statutory instrument or court ruling, but a detailed legal analysis intended to reduce uncertainty for businesses deploying AI systems.
The statement applies established English private law doctrines to AI harms, covering negligence under Donoghue v Stevenson and its progeny including the Caparo three-stage test, vicarious liability principles where AI acts in a quasi-employee capacity, professional liability for AI-assisted advice, product liability under the Consumer Protection Act 1987 and successor provisions, and liability for false statements including negligent misrepresentation under Hedley Byrne v Heller, defamation, and deceit. The statement addresses non-deliberate harm scenarios only.
The statement has direct implications for AI deployers in financial services, legal services, healthcare, and technology. Key conclusions include that businesses cannot avoid liability for AI-generated false information solely because the output was machine-generated, and that existing duty-of-care principles may attach liability to those who place AI systems into contexts where harm is foreseeable. Businesses operating AI systems in advisory or decision-making capacities face the same liability exposure as those giving advice directly.
The UKJT identifies open questions that existing English law cannot resolve without legislative action or further judicial development, including the allocation of liability when a harm chain involves multiple AI systems and multiple principals, and the appropriate standard of care where no AI-specific regulatory baseline exists. The statement recommends that businesses document AI governance, testing, and oversight arrangements to support any future duty-of-care defence.
Licentium advises AI developers, operators, and deployers on liability exposure, contractual risk allocation, and regulatory positioning in the UK and EU. For questions about how the UKJT statement affects your AI products or services, contact us. Work we undertake includes AI liability risk assessments, AI governance policy design, contractual indemnity and warranty drafting, EU AI Act compliance advisory, and supervisory investigation support.
Source: UKJT, Legal Statement on Liability for AI Harms, LawTech UK, 7 July 2026 (Law Society press release)