ISLAMABAD: In the wake of a judgement that has shaken the country to its core, a former chief justice on Tuesday extolled judges to practice judicial humility and guard against complacency and self-righteousness.

Talking about the importance of continuing judges’ legal education while in office, former chief justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani warned: “Exercise of all power inflates the human ego. It saps judicial humility, an essential attribute of a judge, which protects them from complacency and self-righteousness.”

He was speaking at the National Conference on Law and Technology in the Digital Age, organised by the Continuing Legal Education Institute of Pakistan (CLEIP).

PBC member alleges tampering of electronically-obtained evidence in Panama Papers case

The conference, which brought together experts and leading figures from the realms of technology, telecommunications and jurists, featured in-depth discussion on the impact of modern technology on the legal profession and the various possibilities of linkages between industry and the courts.

However, the highlight of the day was a panel discussion on the pros and cons of electronically-recorded evidence featuring former SC Justice Shakirullah Jan, Mohammad Aqil of the Pakistan Bar Council, Amir Munir of the Punjab Judicial Academy, and Hildy Bowbeer, a judge of the US district court of Minnesota.

In a detailed presentation on the demerits of Article 164 of the Qanoon-i-Shahadat (Law of Evidence), Mr Aqil maintained that by deeming admissible any evidence that has become available because of modern devices, such as audio or video recordings and photographs etc, this “controversial provision” has been instrumental in denial of justice to private parties.

Mr Aqil maintained that by providing legal cover to personal conversations recorded through modern electronic devices and techniques, the provision had rendered innocent people vulnerable to blackmail.

The PBC member from Karachi stated that thanks to technological advancements, it had become very easy to fake evidence by tampering with audio or video recordings, morphing images or mimicking voices.

“The government and politicians have felt the brunt of this specific provision… the record recent case of a PML-N stalwart… with the help of mimickers, camera tricks and various electronic devices… blackmail was perpetrated and false claims could be made and proved in court,” he said.

“Law has always yielded to technology, whenever it was [felt] necessary,” he said, claiming that “the recent high-profile case of Panama Papers leaks, where electronic devices and techniques have been cleverly used to tamper with evidence” was a case in point.

Recalling procedures adopted in the US, Judge Bowbeer said that whenever such evidence was submitted, it was also provided to the defendant’s side in advance of the trial, to allow their own experts to establish its authenticity and object to it, if necessary.

Even at the trial stage, she said, the judge will ask of any evidence: “Is it relevant? Is it reliable? Ultimately, it will be for the jury to decide how much weight to put on it.”

Earlier, in a discussion regarding intellectual property rights, Barrister Zahid Jamil lamented that under Pakistani patent laws, software could not be trademarked.

“The only option available to a talented developer who does not want to lose his copyright is to register his trademark abroad, for example, in the US. But if a Pakistani citizen registers a trademark abroad, under our law, they can be sent to prison,” he explained.

Mr Jamil called on the Ministry of Information Technology to play a positive role in having the law changed, since this restrictive and unfair stipulation was introduced through a deliberate amendment and not an oversight.

Published in Dawn, August 4th, 2017