The High Court has said every virtual court must consider privacy, fairness and cybersecurity concerns as technology becomes more and more complex with time.
“A virtual court has to provide adequate cybersecurity measures, both in terms of who has access and how data is stored; and how confidential information will be administered,” the HC said in a full text of its judgement which was released Saturday.
“Only by adopting adequate cybersecurity protocols, virtual courts will be able to enhance access to justice successfully,” it added.
The HC on Saturday released the full text of the verdict that rejected a writ filed by a lawyer challenging the virtual court proceedings.
The 32-page text of the verdict was published dated December 12 on the Supreme Court's website after judges of the HC bench signed it.
Earlier on November 25, the HC bench of Justice Jahangir Hossain Selim and Justice Md Badruzzaman rejected a writ petition that challenged the legality of virtual court proceedings.
On that day, attorney general AM Amin Uddin and deputy attorney general Md Bashir Ullah took part in the hearing for the state, while petitioner advocate AKM Asiful Haque moved the petition himself.
Earlier in this year, AKM Asiful Haque filed the writ petition challenging the legality of virtual court proceedings.
In the full text of verdict, the HC said, “virtual courts have to ensure fairness to all parties and the process’s integrity when courts go online. A remote hearing should not create an advantage for a firm that can pay for good lighting and stable internet connections. Virtual courts that understand how to preserve due process will go a step forward in ensuring access to justice.”
“While virtual hearings can be useful, authorities have to implement adequate safeguards to ensure that the proceedings are protected. For example, in a recent incident, a lawsuit challenging Florida’s mask order took an uncomfortable turn. While the attorneys prepared to present their oral pleadings, hackers infiltrated them with bursts of music and offensive sexual depictions,” the HC bench said in the full text of verdict.
The HC in the verdict said that it will not be out of context to say that as Legal Systems try and adapt the best they can, there is virtually no existing precedence for the challenge that Covid-19 has posed in the delivery of Justice.
According to the verdict, the virtual court procedure has some challenges that need to be solved.
In the full text of verdict, the HC also said, “virtual court relies heavily on web apps such as Zoom, WebEx, Microsoft Teams, or Google Meet. A lack of access to the Internet is a barrier to justice when relying heavily and exclusively on virtual courts. It needs wider accessibilities to the internet and not only the accessibility, but the speed of the internet does also matter a lot.”
“To participate in online proceedings, the required minimum internet speed is 2mbps/sec and this speed is available only with 4G. But in Bangladesh, most of the people do not have 4G facilities and from our experience in conducting virtual hearings, we as well as the participants are regularly facing various problems due to unstable internet connection,” the HC said in the judgment.
The HC bench said, “Digital literacy looks at the capacity to use the internet and the tools associated with it. Lawyers with a background from their virtual happy hour, the usual participant who does not “mute” himself, or a participant who frames the camera to focus his forehead.”
“We are witnessing similar situations regularly. Any judicial system that wants proper access to justice should provide information and resources for their users. The lack of transparency and information could result in an adverse effect on the system,” the HC judges said.
“However, we have to look carefully at how these procedures work in practice and improve our approach. Many issues need to be solved. We have to be creative and innovative to find better solutions that are adequate for solving the problems in the dispensation of justice through the virtual court system. The situation we find ourselves at this time is unimaginable,” the HC bench observed.
In the full text of verdict, the HC also said, “there have to be new practices incorporated in legal systems across the country along with the need to abandon certain traditional forms of functioning which may no longer be relevant. The focus has to be on transformation and subsequent metamorphosis of the justice delivery system. We can’t wait for Justice to play catch up the next time a new crisis emerges.”
nh/teb
