Islamabad:
The chief judge Yahya Afridi addressed a room full of associates of the court at the start of the new judicial year, highlighting not only the areas requiring an improvement but also the measures already taken by the Supreme Court, which are now formalized.
The emphasis was put on scan and how to use the technology available to make the justice system even more effective. The agenda was to know how to make the judiciary more effective and approach the “functioning” of the courts and the “administrative side” of things.
The senior judge presented five pillars which would integrate technology into the daily processes of the courts. The first was “to improve the provision of services through technology – less paper”.
He explained that the court in the past year had slowly started to integrate steps, such as the deposit of digital cases, and that case files can now be transferred online and also fully followed. Electronic services such as electronic affidavits and digital delivery of orders have been implemented. Notices will now be distributed via WhatsApp and SMS.
One of the objectives, alongside digitization and even more a reasoning, was to make the question of the Court more accessible to the common citizen, which the second pillar approaches.
A hotline was created only to provide an anonymous and safe means for citizens to report incidents of various corruption practices, without having to fear the consequences of the transmission of the complaint. Each report will be followed and addressed within 30 to 60 days, depending on the nature of the complaint.
During the fight against the financial aspect of the judiciary, it was announced that an external audit of the judicial accounts of 2024-2025 had been led by the audit service of the Government of Pakistan. The result of this audit has reached the courts and the concerns raised are in progress.
The third pillar of the agenda was “the strengthening of the legal and regulatory framework”, referring to the steps that the court will take to use artificial intelligence. Most of these procedures were already practiced and recommended, but now they will be formed by the implementation of the rules.
“Everyone talks about technology and artificial intelligence”, and the 61,000 files will therefore be digitized digitally and the project will be completed in six months. Once the cases are scanned, the use of AI will be implemented and used for tasks such as planning cases.
The chief judge said that the judges are not limited to traveling during the holidays during judicial recess, however, for ordinary leave, the judges must inform the administration. These SOPs would be addressed more to houses and vehicles of rest, as well as the granting of leave to the judges.
