“Title of study”

“MEDIA TRIAL and its impact on Criminal Justice System of Pakistan”

A Research Report
Submitted to the course instructor
JUSTICE CH WASIM IQBAL
(Research Project)
BA-LLB-X
(Fall 2021)
By
MAHJABEEN ZULFIQAR ALI BL-0207.

Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto University of Law (SZABUL)

Karachi-Pakistan
September 2021
 ACKNOWLEDGMENT

First and foremost, I would like to thank to the greatest ALLAH (SWT), for made me
sufficient enough to complete the report according to the proper manner and time. All work
done with full commitment, I worked extensively with compassion related to the core
throughout this project. I am really thankful to confiscate this opportunity to exhibit our
supervisor, mentor, instructor Justice Ch Wasim Iqbal who has been always there to guide me
from the start till the end in every stage of learning and without his constant help I would not
be able to complete this report. It was full of pleasure for me to work with such an
astonishing personality and professional guider at the reputable university, it was an amazing
experience of learning with such dedication and these efforts are surely presenting
accomplishment in foreseeable future to carry on through some different way which would
definitely conveying them with the best possible form. Through all this journey, our advisor
assists me whenever I want any help from him as this project of conducting study was my
first ever assignment regarding research.
 DEDICATION

This thesis is dedicated

To
MY PARENTS and BROTHER
For their endless love, support and encouragement.
 ABSTRACT

Media practices extraordinary impact on the general population; in Pakistan media seems to
meddle with court procedures. The reason for this subjective examination was to investigate
the impact of media trial on the Pakistan Criminal Justice System and to analyze the
connection between court decisions and media trials in Pakistan. Qualitative data were
assembled from a assortment of sources, including the legal disputes and the related decisions
reported by the media. Hence, interviews were likewise led to gather subjective information
from 20 pakistan based legal advisors. Discoveries showed that media interference influences
the Pakistani Criminal Justice System, regularly unfavorably. Discoveries might be utilized to
help public strategy causing bodies to detail media rules about reporting wrongdoing and the
justice system in Pakistan. Discoveries may likewise be utilized to reinforce public trust in
the legal framework in Pakistan.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgment
Dedication
Abstract
Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 Background of Research
1.2 Problem Statement
1.3 Research Objective
1.4 Research Questions and Hypothesis
1.5 Scope of the Study
1.6 Justification of the Study
Chapter 2: Literature Review
Chapter 3: Research Methodology
3.1 Research Strategy/Approach
3.2 Definition of Population
3.3 Sampling Technique/ Survey Technique
3.4 Study Side
3.5 Methods for Administrating Survey
3.6 Survey Instrument
3.7 Methods for Data Analysis
Chapter 4: Data Analysis
Chapter 5: Conclusion and Recommendations
 CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

Trial is essentially a process to be carried out by the courts. The trial by media is definitely an
undue interference in the process of justice delivery. Before delving into the issue of
justifiability of media trial it would be pertinent to first try to define what actually the 'trial by
media' means. Trial is a word which is associated with the process of justice.

Trial by media is also known as investigative journalism or parallel investigation by the

media when a case (criminal or civil) is ongoing in any court or competent adjudicatory body.
This can involve the media to encroach upon the rights of the parties to proceedings while
exercising its freedom of speech and expression. Moreover, discussing various privileged
information in the public domain during proceedings causes many versions of the same story
to come out and be sensationalized on the media platform. The media taking the role of an
adversary and using the audience as a judge to conduct their own trials is how a media trial
comes to be.

Media practices staggering impact on general society. Papers, news media, radio, and TV
don't just spread data; they likewise help with deciding the stories and themes the public will
examine. Wrongdoings get wide media inclusion, a perspective that presents a test for
safeguard lawyers, litigants, and examiners. Juries and judges are needed to be unprejudiced
when settling on choices in regards to a case, paying little heed to the media news inclusion,
which they may have experienced before the trial. Nonetheless, police dealing with the
criminal case may be affected by the media during the time spent giving case-related data.
Also, trial media inclusion, especially the inclusion of procedures through unsettled court
media room conversation, can impact the hearers' and witnesses' practices. Live media
inclusion of the court procedures can meddle with the course of a free preliminary and can
impact equity, particularly for the mistreated in the public eye dependent on a specific case
and factors that impact the case.

media trial, a famous term in the mid 21st century and late twentieth century, is used to
characterize the effect of newspaper and TV inclusion on the standing of a individual after or
under the watchful eye of a decision in court. There has been a warmed discussion between
free press supporters and people who focus on an individual's on the whole correct to
reasonable trial and right to security. Media are much of the time blamed for inducing public
madness in court cases like a lynch horde. Nonetheless, it is counter-argued that the crowd
mindset happens free of the media.

There is no reference to trial by media in the constitution of Pakistan. Media freedom alludes
to the freedom of expression and speech of the overall population. In spite of the fact that
Article 19 addresses the right to expression and speech, media trial principles are excluded.
Media opportunity isn't finished on the grounds that it is restricted by Article 19 in which,
free press expression alludes to the absence of obstruction from outsmarting state.

1.1- BACKGROUND OF RESEARCH:

Across the world, there have been efforts to regulate what the media conveys to the public,
especially by criminal justice systems. In many nation-states, the freedom that the media
enjoys when reporting on criminal matters is considered conditional. Many court systems,
including the Indian court system, provide that every party’s right to expression does not
extend to committing contempt of the system. There is a need to determine whether the
motivation of the court systems in limiting media freedom is related to how they perceive the
media to be impacting criminal justice systems. Particularly, there is a need to establish how
the media impacts the systems (Greer & McLaughlin, 2011a).
Research was conducted on the intervention of media in cases under trial. The literature
indicates that trial by media is a dynamic process through which people are exposed to public
opinion where they are condemned without being heard (Greer & McLaughlin, 2011b). The
media pushes people to prejudge the verdicts of criminal proceedings. Some people use the
media to influence court case outcomes. In media trials, the media serves as a conveyor for
popular sentiment. The media are also used to practice parallel elements of justice outside the
confines of the courtroom (Newburn & Peay, 2012).
The media are a principal pillar of democracy across the world. The media plays numerous
roles in society, including molding social opinions and perceptions of specific events. In
recent times, the media has played a role in pushing for the trial of accused persons. The
media informs the public on matters of significance to it, meaning that a healthy and free
media are critical to the working or functioning of democracy. Court proceedings that are
covered widely by the media are concluded by the courts rather fast by and large (Bodo &
Szabo, 2011; Neubauer & Fradella, 2013).
1.2- PROBLEM STATEMENT:
Media starts public examination on how a high-profile case is being taken care of in the
criminal justice system. This might impact the case trial strategy, which incorporates the
cycle of get-together and introducing confirmations, just as the observers and other
significant court components in a trial. Media contribution in a preliminary might impact the
criminal justice activity either adversely or emphatically dependent on the circumstance.
Regardless of the impact of media on criminal cases in different nations, there have been no
organized logical investigations on the impacts that the media has had on the criminal justice
system in Pakistan. There was a requirement for all the more insightful exploration because
of media in cases that are under trial in Pakistan. Discoveries might induce further discussion
on this impact.

1.3- RESEARCH OBJECTIVE:

Media impact individuals' talk at a given time and place. Media impacts the populace's
perspective with respect to circumstances in the society. The media mirrors individuals'
diverse perceptions of unlike situations. Media presents stories in a way that will catch the
public's consideration in regards to the circumstances. As of late, the media has additionally
been associated with criminal justice trials, particularly high-profile cases. This has been said
meddle with the criminal justice measure, including witness testimony and the proof gathered
in a given case. There is an inescapable worry that criminal justice measures ought to be dealt
with cautiously by the media. The current review was directed to look at the impact of media
on the criminal justice system in Pakistan.

1.4- RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESIS:

Research Questions:
1- What are the impacts of media trial on Pakistan’s Criminal Justice System?
2- Is there any relationship between media trial and Court decisions?

Hypothesis:
Media starts public investigation on how a high-profile case is being taken care of in the
criminal justice system. This might impact the case trial strategy, which includes the cycle of
gathering and presenting evidence, as well as the witnesses and other significant court
components in a trial. Media association in a trial might impact the criminal justice system
either contrarily or emphatically dependent on the circumstance. so, there is a relationship
between media trial and court decisions
1.5- SCOPE OF STUDY:
1.4.1 Inclusion Criteria:
1.4.2 Exclusion Criteria:
1.6- JUSTIFICATION OF STUDY:
Media assumes a part in impacting high-profile trials. This incorporates general assessment
as to court's treatment of a case and measuring the court's proficiency in doing as such. In
spite of the fact that there have been a few experimental examinations in various regions of
the world tending to the effect of trial by media in the criminal justice system either
straightforwardly or by implication, this point has not been enough contemplated in Pakistan.
The motivation behind the current study was to look at what media trial means for the
Pakistani criminal justice system.
 CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
 CHAPTER 3
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1- RESEARCH STRATEGY/ APPROACH:

3.2- DEFINITION OF POPULATION:
3.3- SAMPLING TECHNIQUE OR SURVEY TECHNIQUE:
3.4- STUDY SIDE:
3.5- METHODS FOR ADMINISTRATING SURVEY:
3.6- SURVEY INSTRUMENT:
3.7- METHODS FOR DATA ANALYSIS:

Research Design:
In the current study, I used cross sectional method for my research topic as cross-sectional
survey is conducted for collecting data to make inferences about a population of interest at
one point in time. Cross-sectional surveys have been described as snapshots of the
populations about which they gather data. The collected data was examined through
qualitative method from a assortment of sources, including the legal disputes and the related
decisions reported by the media. I limited the hunt to media case data with explicit reference
to Pakistan somewhere in the range of 2000 and 2021. I shortlisted explicit cases and
subsequently looked for their video cuts from YouTube. I likewise scanned the web for
articles alluding to the cases and giving lawful situations on the cases. I additionally got some
subjective information from meetings of specific lawyers. My research is deductive research
approach that explores a known theory or phenomenon and tests if that theory is valid in
given circumstances. The independent variable in this research is Media Trial and the
dependent variable is impacts on Criminal Justice System of Pakistan.
 CHAPTER 4
DATA ANALYSIS
 CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS