Barrister-at-Law, Gray’s Inn, London, UK, University College London LL.B. (Hons.), UK

Legal Advisor to Board of the Commonwealth Cybercrime Initiative

Chair, Domain Name Dispute Resolution Center of Pakistan for the .pk ccTLD since 2006

Chair of Developing Countries Centre for Cyber Crime and Law  

Barrister Zahid Jamil is a Senior Partner with the family law firm of M/s. Jamil and Jamil, and practices in varied areas of law, which include Cybercrime & Cyber Security, Information Communications Technology, Telecommunication Media & Technology, Electronic Transactions, Data Protection, Corporate, Commercial Law. He drafted the Electronic Transactions Ordinance 2002, Payment Systems and Electronic Funds Transfers Act, 2007, and has worked on the Draft E-Banking Act 2003.  He has been involved and advised parties/complainants in Cyber crime cases in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad and has been liaising with the Federal Investigation Agency’s National Response to Cyber Crime Cell as well as participating in Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime’s Octopus initiative.  As a consultant to the Council of Europe conducted capacity building workshops, provided advice and drafted cyber and electronic transactions legislation (Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Ghana, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Costa Rica, Malta, Uganda, Dominica and Kenya). He acts in the capacity of an advisor to business organizations and the Government on drafting legislation relating to Cyber Security and Data Protection: he drafted the Data Protection Legal Framework, Draft Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, Draft Cyber Security Act, and has advised MoITT as member ICC EBITT on the E-Crimes Act, Draft Foreign Data & Security Protection Act.   He has presented several papers and presentations on Cybercrime, Security, e-Banking, e-Commerce and e-Logistics at domestic (ISACA, CISA, IBP, DG FIA, NR3C, PASHA, MoITT etc.) and international (ICC, EBITT, BASIS, IGF, WSIS, UN, AFACT etc.) fora.  He is the founding member of the National Advocacy Training Programme of the Bar of England and Wales, and has acted as Amicus Curiae to the Court of Appeals of the Sindh High Court. Zahid is affiliated with several renowned international councils and organizations, and is currently the Chairperson of International Chamber of Commerce National Committee on E-Business, IT and Telecommunications (EBITT), Pakistan, the Joint Legal Working Group of the AFACT Asia Pacific Council on Trade Facilitation and E-Commerce (AFACT), and the E-Commerce Committee of the Ministry of Science and Technology, Pakistan. He was accredited by CEDR in 2006 and founded the Domain Name Dispute Resolution Center for Pakistan. Zahid also served for two terms as an elected representative of global business on the Generic Names Supporting Organization, ICANN and served as a member of the Multi Stakeholder Advisory Group for advice to the UN Secretary General on internet governance for six years.

At the 2007 IGF in Rio, was a panellist at the CoE Workshop "Legislative responses to current and future cyber-threats" and also been a panellist in the main Session at the Rio IGF on 14 November 2007. Attended the 2007 IGF in Athens and made interventions from the floor and was a panellist in the APC workshop.  Also attended the IGF Second round of consultations on the convening of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) 19 May 2006, Geneva. As the Chair or of the Developing Countries Centre for Cyber Crime Law, conducted a workshop on the Advantages of Cyber Crime Treaties for Developing Countries at the 2013 IGF in Bali.

He has participated in several Cyber security related forums many of which are domestic as well as on several occasions at the Council of Europe Cybercrime Convention Octopus Forum and also at the UNODC, the UN Task Force dealing with Terrorist Use of the Internet.  Have represented the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime as a presenter at the Malta COMNET and also helped organise the South Asian Regional Cybercrime Workshop organised by the Convention on Cybercrime and the Government of Sri Lanka at Colombo.  He is currently undertaking legislative work in Pakistan on behalf of the Convention on Cybercrime.  Also, have worked with COMNET, CIGF and the Commonwealth Secretariat to develop and draft the proposal for the Commonwealth Cybercrime Initiative.  Also, have conducted several trainings in cybercrime for forensic experts, investigator and prosecutors.