Juveniles need Due attention and Prime care….

In the law a “juvenile” is defined as a person who is not old enough to be held responsible for criminal acts. In Juvenile Justice System Act 2017 “juvenile means a child who may be dealt with for an offence in a manner which is different from an adult”.In criminal law minor is called juvenile.The term “Child” and “Juvenile” is used interchangeably.

UN Convention on the Rights of child

In the article 37 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 2017 , it is written about the child offenders that;
“Children who break the law should not be killed, tortured, treated cruelly, put in prison forever, or put in prison with adults. Prison should be the last choice and only for the shortest possible time. Children in prison should have legal help and be able to stay in contact with their family.”
Further in article 40 of the convention it is emphasized that child offender have access to legal help. It says;
“Children have the right to legal help and fair treatment in a justice system that respects their rights.”
Laws which deal with matters of juvenile

The Pakistan Penal Code, The Criminal Procedure Code, The Juvenile Justice System Ordinance, Juvenile Justice System Act and the Probation of Offenders Ordinance are relevant laws that deal with the matters of juveniles.

Definition of Juvenile Court

A court of law responsible for the trial or legal supervision of children under a specified age is called juvenile court.

Condition of Juveniles in Pakistan

In Pakistan the children are involved in almost all kinds of crimes ranging from murder to petty theft. Many children are used in drug trafficking. Besides,children are being used for suicide attacks.If we talk about the condition of our prisons then its very sad to tell that we don’t have separate prisons for minor offenders due to which children are kept in regular jails.

Now, after many years of struggle for the rights of child offenders by the activists, Pakistan has launched its first court in Lahore to deal with all cases related to children. Ex- Chief Justice Lahore High Court , Syed Mansoor Ali Shah inaugurated the Child Court at Judicial Complex in Lahore on December 19, 2017.

A separate waiting area, a vibrant room with toys has also been set up for counselling of under-trial children. The child courts along with the rehabilitation centres will be beneficial for the welfare of the Juvenile offenders.The juveniles in the rehabilitation centers can get training of different skills and use their energies towards something constructive so that when they are released from rehabilitation center / prison they can earn their livelihood in skillful manner and become a respectful citizen.These offenders need special treatment which is different from the one which is received by adult criminals,so as to give them a chance to go back to normal life.It is also required that the government should provide free legal assistance to juvenile offenders. The government should also establish juvenile court in each district of Pakistan.

Now its time for immediate implementation of the Juvenile Justice System Act 2017, keeping in view the constitutional rights of every child.

The author is an advocate of the High Court and can be reached at javekshf@gmail.com.The author takes sole and full responsibility of the statistical data and content. The views and opinions are her own. LEARN takes no responsibility for the accuracy of this work.

Over-population is the biggest challenge of today world. The most vulnerable to this portent are the countries which are developing and under-developed. Various countries have taken growing population as a challenge and successfully controlled the menace, but many still overlook the point and are badly suffering. Pakistan is also the biggest victim of over-population, the fifth most populous country in the world. But, the authorities and concerned institutions are underestimating the situation. Our negligence to recognize the mess is further deteriorating the situation day-by-day. The combined population of east and West Pakistan at the time of first population census in 1951 was 75 million. West Pakistan share was 33.7 million; the same is 207.8 million now according to the population census of 2017. We added 174 million people during the past 68 years, with one of the highest growth rate of 2.6% in the world.

Multiple factors are responsible for our forbearance. Owing to the less per capita income of 1629$ and poor the growth rate of 5.1%. A trend has prevailed that, the more children you have, the great chances of economically stable family. The strength of male children is considered as an instrument of social empowerment as well as old age security. People do not have sufficient awareness regarding the family planning. The contraception techniques are conventional and in many cases even not available. Reportedly 0.5 to 0.8 million unwanted babies are born every year. Misinterpretations of the religious beliefs are hurting the birth-control drives rapidly. Lack of social activities and community engagement forums are further worsening the conditions. The risks of violent conflicts highly rise today, because a surging youth population cannot find productive employment opportunities.

To manage the status quo effectively, extraordinary arrangements are required by the state and various community networks:
1. An organized awareness mechanism is required on an emergency basis.
2. A strong counter-narrative by the religious scholars to define the difference between contraception and abortion for the greater interest of society is required. Birth control in no way can be compared with infanticide.
3. The introduction of birth control fund is another way forward. State support in various fields of life will attract the parents to consider population planning seriously.
4. Eugenics test should be compulsory to minimize infant mortality.
5. Internationally recognized avoidance medicines should be free of cost and in public domain. Every medical and departmental store should have the stock of contraceptive articles.
6. It is important to empower women.
7. Government should pursue an agenda to promulgate a population policy. This is a tough job in a society like ours, but with effective groundwork the desired result can be achieved.
8. Re-activation of Health Ministry is also important to make a fresh start; especially the population department should be given tasks and assignments to fulfill the same in time.

This alarmingly increased population has had a profound impact not only on the standard of living of the people but on the national morale as well. The much preferred to believe that the poor were poor because of too many children rather than being poor because of an unfair and unequal economic system. Unsustainable human population growth is also a potential disaster for nature; a rise in the number of vehicles and industries have badly affected the quality of air and an increase in the amount of CO2 emissions leads to global warming. Melting of polar ice caps, changing climate patterns, the rise in sea level are the real hazards of over-population. The present pace of population will lead to a doubling of the Pakistan urban areas by 2060. That means the cities will expand from 3 to 6 percent of the landmasses. It also means that 10 to 15 percent of lands farmed today would be taken out of production. If the present trend of population growth continues for two or three more decades. The already over-burdened agricultural economy will cease to feed the outpace numbers.

The author is a Lahore based lawyer and has a keen interest in International law and Politics. He can be reached at: asadali141@gmail.com. The author takes sole and full responsibility of the statistical data and content. The views and opinions are his own. LEARN takes no responsibility for the accuracy of this work.

 

By: Anoshay Fazal

LL.B (Hons) London, PG Diploma in Law & Development (London)

The current surge of frequent hurricanes and earthquakes and other natural disasters, has persistently forced humans to witness the impact and cost of climate change. Hurricane Irma alone has displaced 181,000 people already. This article will focus on the link between climate change and migration. We will briefly review the international regime before focusing on the climate change policy in Pakistan in light of potential human migration.

 The term ‘climate change’ on the face of it, denotes a change in global and regional climate patterns, with recent debate centering on the carbon footprint caused by human activity. However, it is important to expand on the broader meaning of the term. Climate change, caused by various factors, has far-reaching effects on global geographies and more importantly, humans and their habitats.

As climatologists and scientists have continued to warn us how the climate change phenomenon will make large surfaces of the planet entirely inhabitable, mass human migration is now a reality. This underlying connect between climate change and migration will be evident globally and especially Pakistan as it ranks seventh on the Global Climate Risk Index 2017, amongst the countries most adversely affected by climate change. Pakistan has, for decades, already borne the brunt of refugee populations and combating terrorism, and more recently, natural disasters.

Human migration can take two forms, both cross-border (refugees) and internal displacement. War and conflict is long-term therefore it forces cross-border migration away from the war zones. Refugees are afforded a different form of protection level under international law such as the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees. The definition as  outlined by the 1951 Convention states in S. 1(A): “A person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it.” Therefore the international refugee regime does not yet extend this protection to “climate refugees”. However, there are some soft law instruments that pertain to climate induced displacement, such as the 1998 Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, the Kampala Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons (2009) and the Nansen Initiative on Disaster-Induced Cross Border Displacement. The Kampala Convention is a treaty specific to the African Union and focuses on internally displaced persons caused by natural disasters, armed conflict and large-scale development projects. The Convention does not only define an “idp” (internally displaced person), but also specifically addresses climate change and associated state responsibilities for the protection of idps. Furthermore, it encourages the adaptation of national policies for the protection and assistance of displaced persons.

On the other side, the Nansen Initiative is a welcome agenda as a global forum. Initiated by the governments of Switzerland and Norway in 2012, it has carried out a number of sub-regional consultations (including in Southeast Asia and South Asia and the Indian Ocean), which bring to light the different challenges and practices across various regions of the world. These regional reports were discussed at the Global Consultation in 2015 and provided for a further agenda for collaboration at the intergovernmental and international levels.  While both these  instruments have a clear relevance to disasters and climate change and will likely support coordination on an international platform, they are not binding and at best they can be used to draw inference for national policies, provided states wish to do so. Furthermore, they do not take into account the economic aspect of climate induced migration (this will be discussed below in the context of Pakistan).

 The effects of climate change have already been felt across Pakistan, more apparently along coastal areas in the province of Sindh as well as the mountainous terrain in Gilgit-Baltistan. Although natural disasters as a result of climate change seemingly appear to cause populations to temporarily migrate within their countries to more habitable regions, the long-term effects will make certain areas entirely inhabitable. Climate induced migration illustrates different patterns within internal displacement. For instance, those fleeing from coastal areas due to sea intrusion are likely to do so gradually but this displacement is most likely permanent unless that land can be reclaimed , which may take several years. Conversely, those fleeing drastic floods following glacial lake outbursts are likely to flee in emergency situations but will most likely return to their homes eventually once weather situations are more favourable.  Pakistan’s climate change trends have been (though not limited to) in the form of torrential rains and heat stress. The Gilgit-Baltistan region and Chitral have seen drastic weather conditions in the form of flash floods, landslides and torrential rain. The southern part of the country has seen intense heat waves and an increase in temperature Karachi has seen a very fatal heatstroke in 2015. Similarly, Tharparkar has seen drought and famine due to below average rainfall in the 2016 season.

 Very recently, Pakistan has passed its legislation on climate change, the Pakistan Climate Change Act 2017. Although a positive step forward as Pakistan has joined only a handful of countries that have passed climate specific legislation, it needs to be supplemented by a strong enforcement mechanism in order to tackle the impact of climate change. The Act defines climate change in S.2 as ““climate change” means a change in the climate system which is caused by significant changes in the concentration of greenhouse gases as a direct or indirect consequence of human activities and which is in addition to natural climate change that has been observed during a considerable period”. The Act also sets out the establishment of a Climate Change Council and an Authority, both functional organs that will implement the law and policy related to Climate Change.  Although the act covers mitigation and adaptation, the scope appears to be limited. Mitigation is referred to in the context of capping green house gas emissions, in line with the globally applicable Paris Agreement. Although this will achieve the broader aim of stalling climate change and global warming, it does not specifically aim at addressing ground realities unique to Pakistan. Similarly, while the act mentions adaptation, it does not yet outline the sort of adaptive measures required nor outline potential disasters.  

The act does not make note of climate – induced of migration/displacement. Let us now go a step further and look at the human cost of these environmental hazards in terms of displacement. As outlined above, Pakistan is already witnessing flash floods, torrential rain, earthquakes, heat waves and drought across various regions. There has also been a significant shift in the monsoon pattern, with monsoon rains now occurring towards the end of the summer (late August-September). It must be borne in mind, that although Pakistan is now progressing towards a more industrialized and trade-heavy economy, vast areas of the country are still based on agriculture. With sea intrusion, landslides, droughts and heat waves, the environment in several regions will no longer be supportive of agricultural output and this will force people to migrate to other temperate regions.

The end picture, it seems, will result in small areas bearing the burden of large populations. It is pertinent to mention here that climate induced displacement will have a strong negative impact on the economy, with the loss of livelihoods and almost negligible incomes. As things stand currently, the administration cannot be prepared to deal with such displacement, nor is it an option to concentrate large populations in one area.

Therefore, the government, as well the civil society and all other stakeholders, including NGOS and international organisations must work together in order to evaluate and prevent mass displacement that may take the form of permanent migration, focusing on populations and areas exposed to climate impacts.  In order to do this, local administrations and environmental agencies must focus on reclaiming lost land, introducing new agricultural technology and know-how. Secondly, since the 18^th amendment, environmental policy has now been delegated to provincial level; therefore, the Climate Change Council should keep in mind the different conditions in the provinces while drafting further instruments.  Provincial governments should be equipped with projects to preserve their natural resources, produce renewable energy and try to keep agricultural land habitable. Furthermore, a policy to target populations at immediate risk of climate change should be formulated for their relocation. Additionally, Pakistan could also draw inference from international guidelines and instruments such as the 2009 Kampala Convention and the Nansen Initiative on Cross Border Displacement. For instance, a federal policy defining internally displaced persons and the legal protection and assistance available to them would be a step forward. Additionally, although the Nansen initiative takes the role of global consultations, there is much to that can be taken away from playing an active role in these consultations and similar framework may be established for consultations amongst the various federal units within Pakistan.

These steps and a comprehensive climate policy with strong oversight and enforcement mechanisms could potentially prevent mass displacement caused by climate change within the country.

 

 

The author is associated with Lahore Education and Research Network. She holds LL.B (Hons) and is a PG Laws candidate at University of London International Programme. She does freelance research work. Her research areas include environment, refugees and human rights. This work is the intellectual property of the author who takes full responsibility to ensure the accuracy of the laws quoted and the content referred to in the article. No part of this publication shall be reproduced without prior written permission of the author. 

 

 

 By: Waiza Rafique

LLB (Hons.), DBL, DIA, ILCC

 

The history of contracts and promises dates back to the ancient Greek and Roman era when people used to create rights and obligations by virtue of mutual agreements whether written or oral. With the passage of time grew the intricacies in laws and contracts which led to substantial evolution in jurisprudence of the contact law and countless new authorities and opinions were added in the pool of legal research over questions of law in transactional matters.

Every contract carries a tendency of breach and every breach carries with it a potential for dispute. In modern transactions, these breaches and disputes are quite complex and technical which end up in having various different views and authorities over the same points of law. One of such example is the law as to liquidated damages under the provisions of the Contract Act 1872.

To simply put, liquidated damages are pre-estimated or ascertained damages that are foreseen/envisaged by the parties and are stipulated within the agreement/ contract. As defined in the famous Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co. Ltd. vs. New Garage (1915), Liquidated Damages are the ‘genuine covenanted pre-estimate of damages’ which need not be proven and which need not to have occurred even. Thus, it can be inferred that for liquidated damages to be enforceable, no actual loss or suffering needs to be put on record or proved.   

It is important to note that for claiming damages, the concept of ‘time being of the essence’ and ‘not of the essence’ is also important. The relevant provision of the Contract Act for the determination of time being essential or not is Section 55.

For the thorough understanding of this concept, section 55 is reproduced below:

55. Effect of failure to perform at a fixed time, in contract in which time is essential.—When a party to a contract promises to do a certain thing at or before a specified time, or certain things at or before specified times, and fails to do any such thing at or before the specified time, the contract, or so much of it as has not been performed, becomes voidable at the option of the promisee, if the intention of the parties was that time should be of the essence of the contract. —

If it was not the intention of the parties that time should be of the essence of the contract, the contract does not become voidable by the failure to do such thing at or before the specified time; but the promisee is entitled to compensation from the promisor for any loss occasioned to him by such failure. —

If, in case of a contract voidable on account of the promisor’s failure to perform his promise at the time agreed, the promisee accepts performance of such promise at any time other than that agreed, the promisee cannot claim compensation for any loss occasioned by the non-performance of the promise at the time agreed, unless, at the time of such acceptance he gives notice to the promisor of his intention to do so.

 The bare reading of section 55 suggests that the conduct of the Parties is of prime importance to see if time was of essence in the contract or not.

For instance, a party to a contract was to receive certain goods/material within a stipulated time. The other party fails to deliver such goods/material within the specified time and the first party accepts the late delivery of such goods/material. Here, the conduct of the first party shows that the time was not of the essence in this contract. Had the said party accepted delivery only within the specified time or would have either repudiated the Contract, in terms of sub clause 1 of Section 55, and sought damages or accepted late delivery subject to issuance a notice to the other party as warranted under sub clause 3 of Section 55, time would have been of essence. Thus, where Party ‘A’ agrees to deliver certain goods/material to Party ‘B’ and both the parties agree in the contract that ‘Delivery’ shall commence within 90 days and stipulate $200 per week in case of late delivery then this provision specifically grants to party B the right to recover the stipulated amount of $200 per week as damages in case of delay in delivery.

The leading judicial pronouncement which laid down factors to determine whether time is of the essence of the contract or not is Sandoz Limited Versus Federation of Pakistan cited as 1995 SCMR 1431 (Sandoz Case).  The facts in Sandoz Case were that in term of the supply contract awarded to Sandoz Limited by the Federal Directorate of Agriculture Supplies, Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Sandoz had to supply the material within a fixed date and in case of delay in supply Sandoz was liable to pay damages.

Having surveyed leading authorities, on the issue,  from American, British and  Pakistani jurisdictions, their Lordships while interpreting Section 55 of the Contract Act, 1872 in Sandoz Case,  arrived at the finding that the expression “time should be of essence of the contract”,  appearing at the bottom of the first part of the Section,  has been left undefined by the legislature “for whether time is or is not of the essence must inevitably depend upon the parties’ intention to be gathered from the terms of the contract as a whole, and the antecedent circumstances leading to the contract”.  Mr.  Justice (R)Fazal Karim, while agreeing with Ajmal Mian J. (as he then was), held at para 39, page 1475 of the Sandoz Case that:

“The test to determine whether time is or is not to be regarded as of the essence, therefore, is whether failure to perform the promise timeously will deprive the promise of the whole or substantially the whole benefit which it was intended that he should obtain for the contract”. It was further held at para 39-A that “Section 55 of the Contract Act makes the contract voidable at the option of the promisee if the specified time was intended to be of the essence and the contract is not performed within the specified time, but if the time was not intended to be of the essence, it entitles the promisee to compensation from the promisor for any loss occasioned to him.”

The general rules of construction of contracts as stipulated in Chitty On Contracts are that the object of all construction of the terms of a written agreement is to discover the intention of the parties therein (Para 12-039), and that in order to resolve any ambiguity, while construing any document, the court may look at its commercial purpose and the factual background (Para 12-040). Furthermore, the rule of adoption of ordinary meaning of words (Para 12-044) envisages that the terms of contract are to be understood in their plain, ordinary, and popular sense.

Furthermore, in order for a party to demand the precise or correct amount, it has been required as a condition precedent to ‘Quantify” the amount of liquidated damages and thereafter serve a written notice to the other party and claim payment. It is only if a party fails to comply with the written demand notice that party that the other party becomes authorized to recover the demanded amount forthwith through calling upon the Performance/Warranty Bond Guarantee.

Another leading authority enunciating the same principle is ‘Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. versus SAW Pipes Ltd’ (the SAW Pipes Case AIR 2003 SC 2629). In this case, the supplier delayed delivery of casting pipes which caused delay in deployment of rigs and on that basis actual production of gas from a specified platform had to be changed. Since one of the witnesses on testified that the delay was one of the factors for the redeployment plan, therefore the arbitration tribunal held that the Petitioner Corporation was not entitled to retain compensation. After survey of leading authorities and provisions on the point the Indian Supreme Court held at Para 68 that:

“In our view, in such a contract, it would be difficult to prove exact loss or damage which the parties suffer because of the breach thereof. In such a situation, if the parties have pre-estimated such loss after clear understanding, it would be totally unjustified to arrive at the conclusion that party who has committed breach of the contract is not liable to pay compensation. It would be against the specific provisions of Ss. 73 and 74 of the Indian Contract Act.”

Another factor on the basic of which the Court found the judgment in favour of the Petitioner was that:

“there is nothing on the record that compensation contemplated by the parties was in any way unreasonable.” It was further held that “It was also mentioned that the liquidated damages are not by way of penalty. Finally, while setting aside the tribunals decision, the Court held that “There was no reason for the tribunal not to rely on upon the clear and unambiguous terms of agreement stipulating pre-estimate damages because of delay in supply of goods.”

The reasonableness or the genuineness of the pre-estimated loss also raises some very difficult and technical questions both in commercial as well as non-commercial contracts.

There was an argument raised by shipbuilders in ‘Clydebank Engineering Co. vs. Yzquierdo Y Castaneda’ (1905) where the contract was for building four warships and the penalty for late delivery was fixed at the rate of £500 per week. The Clydebank contended that there cannot be a genuine pre-estimation of loss as the warship does not earn money. However, Lord Halsbury refuted the argument and termed the stipulated rate of penalty as ‘liquidated damages’ establishing that a difficulty in ascertainment is no barrier to an estimate being made. This ruling has been followed by courts on various occasions and the courts have laid the dicta that ‘the very difficulty in ascertaining the damages for late completion is a good reason why such damages should be liquidated.’

In the above referred Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre case, Lord Dunedin agreed to Lord Halsbury stating the following:

“It is no obstacle to the sum stipulated being a genuine pre-estimate of damage, that the consequences of the breach are such as to make precise pre-estimation almost an impossibility. On the contrary, that is just the situation when it is probable that pre-estimated damage was true bargain between the parties.”  

Apart from the Sandoz Case which clarified the position with regard to essence of time and the applicability of Section 55 of the Contract Act to the specified situations, the SAW Pipes Case aluminates the matter regarding eligibility of a party to liquidated damages in a sale of goods contract where the contract has envisaged grant of compensation due to breach of contract even when the proof of actual loss due to delay in delivery of goods have not been proven.

However, the perspective of Pakistani Judges and lawyers is quite different as to the interpretation of the abovementioned provisions of the Contract Act. In many instances, the liquidated damages are demanded to be proven and are not granted otherwise in case of delayed delivery of the goods. Although the legal provisions about liquidated damages are clear on this point. The encashment of Performance bonds also becomes debatable even though the law and jurisprudence is unambiguous about encashment of guarantees/performance bonds once the conditions to have them enchased are met.

The views expressed are of the author. This article is the intellectual property of Ms. Waiza Rafique who takes full responsibility to ensure the accuracy of the laws quoted and the content referred to in the article. No part of this publication shall be reproduced without prior written permission of the author.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Social Media Conundrum | Nida Usman Chaudhary

You give human beings anything and they have the incorrigible potential to ruin it. From relationships to partnerships, from environment to food, from cultural events to history and artefacts, from beasts to mankind. There is nothing which is safe in the hands of humans. From corporate greed to corruption and the closed door political agendas fueling killing and destruction of millions is probably not even the tip of the ice-berg. Human nature is inherently destructive and it feeds on all the negativity that surrounds it. Since time immemorial, exercising control on the ‘nafs’ has been one of the greatest human challenges of all times and sadly, even after all these billions and millions of years, and the many religious and spiritual practices that claim to train the devotees to have control of the self, these challenges remain insurmountable; and you may find it interesting to note that as and how human beings are progressing, these challenges are only growing instead of slowing.

What is ‘nafs’? what is control? And just how can controlling the ‘nafs’ contribute to a better and safer world? Much has been said in relation to this fundamental question. The religious scholars and scriptures have shed light on the matter as well as the spiritual leaders. We all have a dark side and we all must learn to control it and our desires in a manner that is socially befitting so that we can live at peace with our fellow beings.

In our language of law, this controlling of ‘nafs’ translates to observance of basic human rights that each of one us is guaranteed nationally as well as internationally through our constitutions and various human rights treaties promulgated by the inter-governmental organizations such as the United Nations and the European Union; for instance, by upholding the right to freedom of speech we call upon ourselves to be tolerant of another person’s opinion or point of view no matter how much we may disagree with him or her. In this way, we recognize that even though we may not agree with the stance of another person, we believe in their right to disagree and hold an opinion of thought different from ours; and although some rights may be qualified and limited in the quest to secure observance of other competing rights, the central idea is the same that lies behind all great teachings be it religious or spiritual or political or social or legal… to create and promote a more civilized society where human beings do not resort to violence and abuse to settle scores over anything and everything that enrages them. Sadly, however, despite all these socio-legal advancements and ‘human rights laws’, and despite all the religious and spiritual calls for tolerance, peace and brotherhood, the fact of the matter is that the world is increasingly becoming more and more violent, more and more intolerant and more and more overpowered by its ‘nafs’.

But how is this even happening? How are the efforts of for instance, United Nations since 1948 vis a vis human rights still largely only aspirational? How is it that it is so usual for people to still discriminate on the basis of caste, creed, gender, religion, ethnicity and race? While there are many answers and contributing factors to that, I am particularly intrigued by the co-relation that advancement in communication and technology and the advent of social media has with bringing out our inner demons and vices on a massive scale. Just to clarify, I am in no way against such advancements or social media per se; what I am saying is that these mediums have been deployed by humans in a deconstructive manner and as with everything else, they have ended up ruining this too.

What in fact has happened is that on the one hand, advancement in communication and technology has inter-linked and inter-connected the world in an unprecedented manner and on the other hand, has made it so possible for anyone to randomly and remotely pull the strings and put on a show or point fingers at anyone and much worse, troll anyone or abuse and harass anyone through and from a remote location. This geographical distance that virtual reality has bridged makes internet and online forums an exceptionally plausible tool to victimize anybody anywhere. It is noteworthy that steps in the direction to curb this increasing phenomenon through cyber laws is under way however, such laws themselves remain subject to controversies inherent in the dichotomy between competing human rights i.e. freedom vs security.

Many instances of cyber abuse have come to fore in recent years and have had an impact that goes well beyond cyber space to a point where it becomes our ugly reality. What happened with Qandeel Baloch and Mashal Khan are testimony of the dangers that social media can have on our lives. Even in lesser extreme instances, I have seen people being trolled and shammed for issues like putting on more weight or having had their hair cut! It’s almost like social media has elongated the tongues of haters and trollers who cannot seem to stop themselves from commenting/abusing other people. What makes them so fearless? What enables them to be so boisterous on social media? Would they be as open and direct with their abuse and shamming if they would be face-to-face with their victim? If not? Why cannot they control themselves online and conduct themselves in a manner that is befitting for online social community? And finally, what makes the online social community less self-regulatory than the offline? The answer lies in one word: accountability.

In the offline world, there can be and often are immediate repercussions of our actions and social manners are taught by parents and teachers to all children from very early stages of their lives. This fear of repercussions of our actions, be it peer pressure or legal sanction, is what enables us to self-regulate ourselves and our actions and we are more careful in our interactions and dealings with others. We may still think that so and so has put so much weight and that their hair cut is totally uncool, but in the offline world the possibility of us walking up to them and saying it on their face or ‘writing it on their wall’ is highly unlikely. The reverse is true if the same is to be said on twitter for instance.

Could it be that social media has made people more able to bring out their inner demons and vices, their racism and hatred that although was inherent in them, but which has now found a new channel through which to project itself? If so, does this thought merit and justify the regulation of social media so as to make it a more accountable forum? I say, if done right, yes! However, what we need more is to educate the users about acceptable standards of social media behavior just like we train our children the acceptable standards of behavior applicable in their offline communities. Education and realization that our actions in the online space are just as susceptible to social accountability if not legal is a very important pre-requisite in making online and offline spaces safe for everyone. It is easier to control ourselves when the repercussions of our actions are in front of us in the offline world. The real challenge however is to have the integrity to conduct ourselves equally responsibly when the repercussions may appear to be remote, as in the online world. I hope this world can live to see the day that human beings resort to nurturing it as opposed to ruining it. Good luck to all those trying and kudos for not giving up!

 

The writer is the founder of Lahore Education and Research Network and can be reached at nida@learnpak.com.pk

 

 

 

http://courtingthelaw.com/2017/02/07/commentary/the-fairer-sex-in-the-legal-profession-tracing-womens-place-in-a-mans-world/