Hi Friends,

Even as I launch this today ( my 80th Birthday ), I realize that there is yet so much to say and do. There is just no time to look back, no time to wonder,"Will anyone read these pages?"

With regards,
Hemen Parekh
27 June 2013

Now as I approach my 90th birthday ( 27 June 2023 ) , I invite you to visit my Digital Avatar ( www.hemenparekh.ai ) – and continue chatting with me , even when I am no more here physically

Sunday 30 July 2017

Privacy : Not Right ?



Here is why :

Attorney General , KK Venugopal submitted to the 9 judge bench:

·      There is no fundamental right to privacy , and even if it is assumed as a fundamental right , it is multifaceted

·      Every facet can’t be ipso facto considered a fundamental right

·      Informational privacy could not be a right to privacy, and it could not ever be a fundamental right
    ( source : DNA / 28 July )


·      The bench drew Sundaram’s attention to present day reality, when rapid technological advance is making individual privacy increasingly vulnerable

o   “ Do we have a robust data protection regime to protect and secure personal information ? “ it asked, indicating its willingness to look at privacy afresh without being burdened by past rulings

o   “ If we accept privacy as a constitutional right , it will have to be part of personal liberty and right to life guaranteed under article 21 of the constitution” , it said


   ( source : Times of India / 28 July )


·      Senior advocate Sundaram, representing Maharashtra government told the court that,

o   “ Privacy can mean a lot of things . Moreover , right to privacy was considered by the constitution makers but they decided to drop it as a fundamental right

    ( source : Hindustan Times / 28 July )


All of this sounds so much rational !

·      Especially , the recognition that the “ March of Technology “ , will render futile , all arguments re: “ Right to Privacy

·      What could have brought about this changed perception on the part of Hon Judges ?




    #   Following news ?




·         Artificial intelligence ' Judge ' developed by UCL computer scientists


   ( source :


·         Artificial intelligence software that can find patterns in highly complex decisions is being used to predict our taste in films, TV shows and music with ever-increasing accuracy. And now, after a breakthrough study by a group of British scientists, it could be used to predict the outcome of trials.

·         Software that is able to weigh up legal evidence and moral questions of right and wrong has been devised by computer scientists at University College London, and used to accurately predict the result in hundreds of real life cases.


·         The AI “judge” has reached the same verdicts as judges at the European court of human rights in almost four in five cases involving torture, degrading treatment and privacy.

·         The algorithm examined English language data sets for 584 cases relating to torture and degrading treatment, fair trials and privacy.

In each case, the software analysed the information and made its own judicial decision. In 79% of those assessed, the AI verdict was the same as the one delivered by the court.


·         Dr Nikolaos Aletras, the lead researcher from UCL’s department of computer science, said: “We don’t see AI replacing judges or lawyers, but we think they’d find it useful for rapidly identifying patterns in cases that lead to certain outcomes.

·         “It could also be a valuable tool for highlighting which cases are most likely to be violations of the European convention on human rights.” An equal number of “violation” and “non-violation” cases were chosen for the study.


·         In the course of developing the programme the team found that judgments of the European court of human rights depends more on non-legal facts than purely legal arguments.

·         This suggests that the court’s judges are more legal theory “realists” than “formalists”.


·         The same is true of other high level courts, such as the US supreme court, according to previous studies.


·         The most reliable factors for predicting European court of human rights decisions were found to be the language used as well as the topics and circumstances mentioned in the case texts.



One of these days , expect some Indian Start-up in the LEGAL DOMAIN to upload all the past Orders / Judgements of Hon Judges ( of 9 member bench ) into this algorithm

{  They may want to first look up :


Will the outcome read  ?

PRIVACY  LEFT  :  NO MORE  RIGHT


31  July  2017







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