The chief judge of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi addressed a room full of associates of the court at the start of the new judicial year, addressing not only to the corners which require an improvement, but the measures that the Supreme Court has already taken, being now formalized.
Emphasis was put on scan and how to use the technology available to make the legal 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 need for the time, according to the CJ, was knowing how to reduce the deadlines for the backrest file and shorten the cases. The CJ Afridi recommended in its speech that it is done through the use of technology.
He presented five pillars that would integrate technology into the daily processes of the courts. The first was “to improve the provision of services through technology – less paper”.
Read: SC opens a new legal year with a full program
The chief judge explains that the court in the past year has slowly started to integrate steps, such as the filing of digital cases has been introduced, that cases can now be transferred online and that cases can also be 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. “Improving access and responsibility”, invented by the chief judge, refers to the judicial system an area without corruption and transparent.
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.
A new initiative on processes standardization and quality insurance has been implemented and will soon be formalized. The court has also taken action to help the litigants abroad by creating a facilitation center for litigants abroad.
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.
New policies and standards of procedures will be carried out which would help the policy of early hearings and the fixing excluding the return of cases. CJ Afridi said that judges are not limited to travel during the holidays during judicial recess, however, for ordinary leave, 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.
The chief judge addressed the disputed subject of security vehicles and that they will be limited not only for the other judges, but for the chief judge himself. If the person of interest lies in Islamabad, he has no use for excessive security, but if he travels or in need, additional safety vehicles will be provided.
Pending cases and delays in the hearings have been highlighted, the chief judge indicating that the number of pending cases has not decreased despite the increase in the number of judges. He replied to this by declaring that last year, 42,666 cases were recorded and this year, 77,433 cases were recorded. Last year, lawyers submitted 22,425 adjournment requests and this year, the number increased to 56,449 adjournment requests.
The Pakistani courts are about to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Court of the Supreme People of China, and a project of memorandum of understanding with the Constitutional Court of Turkiye is being examined.
The court also participates in cooperative exchanges with the supreme courts of Bangladesh, Iran, Azerbaijan and Denmark. This is done with the globalization of our world in mind, the chief judge has declared that the existing in isolation is no longer beneficial or possible.
