While the present judicial delays were exacerbated by the pandemic, it is important to treat these challenges as an opportunity, build on the momentum and continue to strengthen the relationship of technology and the judicial system, newly appointed Supreme Court Justice Arjuna Obeysekere said. While the country’s judicial system took time to adjust to the [...]

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New SC judge calls for hi-tech driven judiciary with necessary firewalls

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While the present judicial delays were exacerbated by the pandemic, it is important to treat these challenges as an opportunity, build on the momentum and continue to strengthen the relationship of technology and the judicial system, newly appointed Supreme Court Justice Arjuna Obeysekere said.

While the country’s judicial system took time to adjust to the pandemic, it has now caught up due to the steady support and commitment of members of the Bar, Justice Obeysekere observed, speaking during the Ceremonial Sitting held to welcome him at the Superior Courts complex.

“We must make a conscious effort to ensure that the technological infrastructure continues to be developed to support future activities. From digitising the court diaries and syncing individual judge’s diaries, to full-blown electronic document retrieval systems, multiple steps remain to be accomplished,” he further stressed.

Some research has indicated that around a quarter of today’s lawyers tasks can be automated, Justice Obeysekere pointed out. Legal research and data are carried out by powerful digital tools.

“While we continue to pursue engagement with innovative tools to be more responsive and expeditious, it is equally, if not more, important to comprehend that with increased adoption of technology, the resultant dynamics will move at a faster pace compelling us to recalibrate and revisit the fundamentals we lean on to preserve the rule of law and human dignity,” he added.

“In this new world dominated by technology, when disputes arise, as they eventually will, they will demand a new way of adjudication based on new methods and principles. As much as the way we manage our day to day affairs have changed, a world ruled by algorithms will compel us to re-define the way we adjudicate to inspire trust and confidence in the minds of people. It will force us to acquire new skills and knowledge to be worthy of our role as Judges and members of the Bar in this transformed world.”

He elaborated that increasingly, people are living their lives — shopping, playing, socializing, learning, etc. through online digital interfaces. Big data, machine learning and other types of Artificial Intelligence shape business interactions with consumers.

“That, machines can successfully deceive is widely understood. Machine-produced online profiles and bots have deceived voters, consumers, and others often as part of financial scams. Left unchecked, these cutting-edge solutions that design business interactions with consumers today pose a looming threat in areas such as consumer protection and fair competition as they threaten to immunize deception of consumers from legal prohibitions on deceptive business practices,” he warned.

Justice Obeysekere mentioned that like any novel product or service, technology based systems, need guardrails to mitigate negative consequences without diluting the beneficial use of these services.

This calls for a mammoth and a unified engagement, a collective effort by the Bar, the Judiciary and the Legislature to take immediate measures in respect of four matters, he said.

The first is to expedite the promulgation of laws governing data protection, privacy framework and artificial intelligence etc to support the digital eco-systems of the future and to engender public trust and confidence.

Second is to continue the adoption of technology tools with the inbuilt safe guards on ethics and confidentiality in the day to day functioning and administration of the judiciary.

Third is to enable the members of the Judiciary to be equipped with the wherewithal to adopt and understand technology.

Fourth is to enact a code of conduct on technology for lawyers by the Bar Association and the Bar Association initiating mechanisms for knowledge building, for the Lawyers to stay current with the technology trends and market realities, he highlighted.

In his welcome address, Bar Association President Saliya Pieris PC remarked that as a judge of the Court of Appeal, Justice Obeysekere “at all times functioned with grace and quiet dignity.”

After being appointed President of the Court of Appeal in December 2020, Mr Pieris stressed that he has personally seen the willingness of Justice Obeysekere to adapt to new situations and to listen and consult and to work with the Bar. “This was amply demonstrated during the last lockdown when Your Lordship initiated moves to use modern technology to overcome the challenges which arose as a result of the pandemic,” he asserted.

Attorney General Sanjay Rajaratnam PC also spoke.

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