A Comparative Study of Admissibility and Authenticity of Electronic Evidence in Context Pakistan and the United Kingdom

Abstract

Objective/Aim: Electronic evidence has become central to modern criminal and civil litigation worldwide, yet Pakistan's primary evidentiary framework, the Qanun-e-Shahadat Order 1984 (QSO) was enacted in a pre-digital era and contains no dedicated provisions governing the admissibility, authentication, or forensic integrity of electronically stored information (ESI). This research article critically examines the structural deficiencies of the QSO as they relate to electronic evidence, with particular focus on the inadequacy of sections 2, 73, and related provisions when applied to digital data. Material and Methods: Through the analysis of the United Kingdom's Civil Evidence Act 1995, the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE), the Electronic Communications Act 2000 and the guidelines issued by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) now the College of Policing this study undertakes a comparative legal analysis to identify reform pathways for Pakistan. Through doctrinal legal research complemented by a policy analysis framework.

Findings and Conclusion: The article further analyses the Electronic Transactions Ordinance 2002 and the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 (PECA) as supplementary legal instruments, assessing whether they sufficiently bridge the legislative gap. The article proposes a multi-tiered reform model encompassing statutory amendments to the QSO, the creation of a national digital forensics regulatory authority, and the codification of a chain-of-custody protocol aligned with ISO/IEC 27037:2012 and UK forensic science standards. The findings indicate that Pakistan's legal system urgently requires coherent, technology-neutral legislative reform to ensure that electronic evidence is handled with the same rigour, integrity, and reliability demanded by contemporary legal proceedings.

Keywords: Electronic Evidence, Qanun-e-Shahadat Order 1984, Digital Forensics, Admissibility, Authentication, UK Evidence Law, PECA 2016, Chain of Custody, Legal Reform, Pakistan.