Cyber law: Legal Aspects of Computing.

Cyber Law; Legal Aspects of Computing

This is a field of law which deals with legal issues related to electronic transactions through "Internet". Web technology, and other issues related to computer based business(e-business). Information technology (IT law) is a set of rules and regulations which covers whole area of electronic business e.g. Electronic documents and records, privacy, security, cyber war, e-commerce etc. several countries have made laws which govern all these processes and make a legal basis for adoption/implementation of electronic business in government, semigovernment and other related sectors. Its jurisdiction is not confined to a country but, by globalisation its jurisdiction has been "internationalized". We have different IT laws in several states, Malaysia Digital Signature Act done, Singapore Electronic Transaction Act, GPEA Act (USA), 2000 and 2008 IT Act of India etc.

Indian legal framework for adoption of information technology (IT)

For the reformation of judiciary in context of information technology (and also in administrative fields) the jurisdictions have to enact statutes to force those involved in their judicial system to bring the change. The enforcement measures will bring judiciary or judicial staff to the state of appearance of the emerging change, maybe they will lack a clear picture. And when they will realise that this change will affect them they will become anxious and will try to adopt the new system. Once the participants will understand the nature of change the culture will shift and will begin to believe in the change. So there is dire need for the change of rules and regulations withal the adoption of new rules to bring cultural change in judiciary.

Before going further I would like to quote two important matters which need to be addressed it in this age i.e. the paradigms shift. What does the ‘shift’ to really means? Do we know that we have to respect the change and stop resisting it? To which we are resistant and what we have to respect? These are some of questions posed by a lay man when he is forced to make a shift from one generation to another.

In first context I would like to quote the words of Mr Justice P. Thathasivam, "the Indian judicial system is constantly exposed to new dimensions, and new signals and has to survive in a world in which perhaps the only real certainty is that the circumstance of tomorrow will not be the same as those of today."

Second, I would like to quote the writing of advocate Ram kumar Mishra which needs more attention with respect to the notion of paradigms shift. He states, "The court as part of the federal system and as the defender of the democracy is responsive to the change in Indian society. The fears of justice harried is justice worried, Justice delayed justice denied and justice activated justice degraded are to be overhauled… and will strengthen democracy".

One of the main purposes of the access to justice is that justice should reach to each and every person under jurisdiction. According to World Justice Project’s Rule Index India has 27 ranking among 35 countries in providing civil access to justice.  The Index gives novel statistics on the subject of a range of dimensions of the rule of law; such as whether administration officials are answerable under the law, and whether legal organizations guard fundamental rights and permit common people admission to justice. William H Neukom, WJP Founder, says “The rule of law is the predicate for the eradication of poverty, violence, corruption, pandemics, and other threats to civil society…. Every person on this planet deserves a fair shake, but far too many of them live in communities without justice, and therefore without hope. This is intolerable.” According to Latest report the overall ranking of India is 78 out of 97 countries in which “the civil court system ranks poorly (ranking seventy-eighth), mainly because of de?ciencies in the areas of court congestion, enforcement, and delays in processing cases. Corruption is a signi?cant problem (ranking 83th), and police discrimination and abuses are not unusual. Order and security — including crime, civil con?ict, and political violence— is a serious concern (ranked second lowest in the world)”.

The globalisation has broken the boundaries and border, and exposed us to different off thoughts. Once we have got only few ways to resolve disputes but now we have different techniques and ways by which we can resolve disputes easily and quickly. This time we have alternate dispute resolution ADR, Fast track courts, family courts, Online dispute resolution (ODR) and indeed we have now automatic online case resolution software, Accelerated Case Resolution (ACR). So in every respect the justice delivery system, and its access is becoming cheaper and easier. This change in justice sector has made a shift from its traditional stage to excited stage. Indeed European countries one out of best examples where we can view the changes which took place in criminal and civil justice sector. The emergence of new economies, privatisation, opening of capital and trade markets, cyber crime has raised new legal issues which needs to be solved in different way than our traditional ones used to be solved. Once Bill Gates said that there wouldn't be more than 64K needed to store data, and IBM CEO Thomous J Watson in 1943 said "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers." Ken Olsen, founder of Digital Equipment Corporation in 1977 "There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home."  Darryl Zanuck, executive at 20th Century Fox said in 1946 "Television won't be able to hold on to any market it captures after the first six months. People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night”.

The world is changing, our kid of first class can easily detect the worst predictions made by those great intellectuals some decades ago. Where they right or wrong in that time? Why the predicted in that way? There are so many questions which needs to be answered.

The main purpose here is to discuss "the change"; because the man has changed from nomadic to a high-tech person with iPad in his hands to gather information from every corner of the world. So how cruel it is now if judiciary will remain resistant to change and stuck to its traditional way especially in its administrative and management field.