The Protection of Data on the Touchstone of the Right to Privacy under the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973

Abstract

This paper discusses the intricacies of data and data protection. It discusses how a right to privacy is inherent in data. It discusses how there is no exclusive legislation on data protection. How it exists only in certain statutory provisions. Whether privacy is a sacred human right and whether it exists in the Pakistani Constitution. The main findings of this paper are that there is an inherent right to privacy in data that necessitates data protection as data is important information that could be used for nefarious purposes. While there is no exclusive legislation on data protection, the Protection of Data Bill, 2023 is a most recent attempt on the same. While data protection exists in certain statutory provisions, its scope is limited and thus for Pakistan’s best interest, this bill should be passed. The right to privacy is a sacred human right under western jurisprudence, Islamic law and international law. It is incorporated within Articles 4, 9, 13(b) and 14(1) of the Constitution. The Pakistani Superior Courts have recently expounded upon the principles of data protection, it is still a small step and the bigger step towards data protection in Pakistan would be the passing of the Protection of Data Bill, 2023. The methodology used in this paper is doctrinal.