AI, sovereign citizens might have led to rise in vexatious conduct: David Colovic
David Colovic, president of the Law Society of South Australia, has highlighted the state government’s recent passage of the first significant reforms to vexatious litigant laws since 1935, broadening the definition of vexatious conduct and fortifying safeguards against vexatious litigants.
In the law society’s news release, he added that the changes also expanded the powers preventing such litigants from resorting to the courts.
According to Colovic, by amending the state’s Supreme Court Act 1935, the new laws enable a South Australian court to:
When dealing with vexatious litigants, a state court can prohibit them from initiating proceedings without its permission, toss out existing proceedings, and order the payment of costs.
“The adjustments to vexatious litigant laws have been a long time coming and are in the interests of the efficient disposition of justice,” Colovic said.
“If everyone is to be equal before the law, it follows that everyone has the right to have their day in court,” Colovic said. “But are there times when people should be denied that right?”
He acknowledged that some vexatious litigants are sincerely seeking justice for a perceived wrong against them.
However, Colovic stressed that vexatious litigants also aim to hinder, harass, intimidate, delay, embarrass, or unreasonably burden the opposing parties, including by forcing them to incur substantial and unnecessary legal costs to defend themselves.
He added that vexatious litigants can waste the judicial resources that could have benefited their fellow court users who are lawfully attempting to pursue or protect their rights.
Colovic acknowledged that the low number of vexatious actions pending in South Australia has been increasing. He attributed this rise to two possible causes: AI developments and sovereign citizens.
“Artificial intelligence has added fuel to the vexatious litigant’s fire by providing an efficient way to produce detailed and sophisticated legal gibberish,” he said.
“Sovereign citizens often trade in ‘pseudolaw,’” Colovic said in the law society’s news release. “At its most sinister, pseudolaw can be deadly, as illustrated all too tragically by the Dezi Freeman saga.”
He explained that sovereign citizens frequently use the justice system to harm other parties and evade penalties.
“Pseudolaw resembles a conventional legal argument, but in reality has no basis in legal fact or genuine case law,” Colovic said. “It’s all form and no substance.”
Here are some other news stories involving the law society.
Upon assuming his role as the law society’s president, Colovic discussed the five main priorities for 2026: investing in the justice system, navigating AI and the anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) regime, promoting talent, and improving well-being.
The law society welcomed legislative reforms that received assent on 20 November 2025, intending to increase the interest rate ceiling on the Legal Practitioners’ Fidelity Fund in an effort to future-proof it.
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