DELAY IN JUSTICE

WHY IS THERE A DELAY IN JUSTICE IN PAKISTAN?

by
JUSTICE

One of the most complained issue of our legal system is delay in litigation especially in civil cases. There are three pillar of State and Judiciary is one of them.  As, justice delayed is said to be justice denied and it was because of this existent and rising issue, and who is the responsible for this? What are the Solutions for this?

In our nation, a genuine disadvantage of the organization of justice is postponement. Delays perpetually happen in the process of civil cases. It is typical for a normal civil suit to wait on for whatever length of time, which be two decades or even more. And on the completion of the trial, maybe another large portion of 10 years is required to guarantee the execution of declaration. Delays in the settlement of civil debate, other than causing dissatisfaction to the disputants, additionally hampers the financial advancement of the society. It serves as a disincentive to outside interest in our economy and influences our exchange relations with remote governments/multi-national organizations. Citizens are losing their trust in the judicial system and they would rather prefer to resolve their issues by other means rather than engaging themselves with the legal system. The structure has many flaws whether that be corruption, low number of judges or non-availability of lawyers to the poor people. The fact that the system is so crowded makes so many cases pending and so many people in distress.

That the provisions of the Law are not duly complied with or strictly followed. At the time of filling a suit, the procedure charge is not paid for quite a while with the goal that summons to the respondent may not be served in time. After the litigant shows up, when filing a written statement, the case lingers on as the lawyer frequently takes adjournments. After the pleadings are done with, when it is time to submit the documentary evidence, no one at this stage is bothered to submit the documentary evidence.

THE LAWYERS BEHAVIOR

The behavior of the lawyers is also an important issue; a careless behavior on the part of lawyers is also a significant reason for such a problem. In many cases where an interim relief is received, the plaintiff is then interested in postponing the procedures so that stay or order is proceeded for as much time as possible. Essentially, where the respondent has no defense, he is actually keen on dragging out the trial with a view to put off the malevolent day as far as might be feasible. It is the creativity of lawyers in exploiting details which helps litigants in such cases. Lawyers are likewise known to apply for regular adjournments on unstable grounds. At the point when a specific ground, for example, a problem which is personal or illness is put forward as an excuse before the judge, it is typically impractical for a judge to look at whether the ground is honest or not and it is in the wellness of things that he ought to regularly acknowledge as genuine. In any case, when this is the position, it is the obligation of lawyers not to look for dismissals on unstable or non-existent grounds. It is not proposed that such practices prevail across the board. Yet, it can't be denied that, there are corrupt components in the legal profession as well and that they are in charge of a great part of the deferrals in litigation

The primary issue which the disputants are confronting is that of a non-availability of good lawyers. A State ought to on such a problem arrange for good lawyers for them. Fundamentally the principle issue that the defendants confront and especially the poor ones is that they cannot afford lawyers and most importantly good lawyers. Because of this monetary weight and the expenses of the lawyers being so high, their grievances are left unaddressed.

Government needs to make justice easy for their citizen as much as possible, recently Punjab government imposed the time bomb to the litigants in the shape of stamp duties for the filling of fresh suit which was increase up to 500% so no poor litigant able to file the case and fight for his right.

LITIGANTS AWARENESS FOR HIS RIGHT

Awareness is the key element for any required procedure. If the litigants are aware of their rights it would make the process speedy and eliminate any inconvenience in the process, 99% of litigants sign their Petitions without reading them or to ask any question to their lawyer. Litigants also need to be vigilant.

INCOMPETENT JUDICIARY

It is extremely hard to discover proficient judges due to defective fundamental framework. The judiciary is divided into two categories, one with individuals of strong foundation educationally and the other with individuals joining after failing in other fields. Therefore, because of the latter group there is incompetency and thus a delay. And the legal system is under substantial workload. As against the protruding populace and surge in suit, the quantity of judges has not expanded in equivalent pace, there are around 4400 Judges for 24 million populated country which means one judge is for 43000 people which is unacceptable and not with the international standard. Though every court has substantial dockets, the Subordinate Courts need to shoulder the brunt. As first instance in the trial courts, the vast majority of the common and criminal cases are directed. As per one gauge, around 90% of cases in Pakistan are led at the level of Subordinate Courts and the rest at the level of High Courts and Supreme Court. The Subordinate Courts additionally work under numerous requirements. It provided as follows:

  1. In Punjab, 55 District & Sessions Judges, 34 Additional District & Sessions Judges and 23 Senior/Civil Judges and Judicial Magistrates working on ex cadre posts.
  2. In Sindh, 42 District & Sessions Judges, 9 Additional District & Sessions Judges and 8 Senior/Civil Judges and 11 Judicial Magistrates working on ex cadre posts.
  3. In Balochistan, 5 District & Sessions Judges, 4 Additional District & Sessions Judges, 7 Senior/Civil Judges and 5 Judicial Magistrates working on ex cadre posts.

In KPK, 31 District & Sessions Judges, 19 Additional District & Sessions Judges and 17 Senior/Civil Judges and Judicial Magistrates working on ex cadre posts.

INFLUENCES AND BRIBERY (CORRUPTION)

Corruption is word which does not have a single definition. In order to determine the meaning of this term, a mixture of numerous definitions would propose that corruption is a wrong, which originates from willful omission or an act of deliberate nature. This results in a gain which is wrongful in nature. ‘Corruption’ is destruction for a society; it leaves the system shackled, with no strength to progress and an utter environment of injustice. The most recent decade saw a worldwide acknowledgment about the unsafe impacts of corruption on economy, control of law and the administration of public and private division foundations. This across the board feeling created United Nations to dispatch an overall exertion against corruption through the presentation of United Nations Convention. Many nations of the world have signed this convention and ratified it. The aim of this convention is to battle corruption with coordination and with a united force involving different agencies in this regard.

As indicated by the Transparency International Pakistan's National Corruption Perception Survey 2011, in the recent years corruption has increased. The Global Corruption Barometer 2013 reports that half of the reviewed family units see the legal to be "degenerate" or 'to a great degree corrupt'.

Judiciary stay corrupt, incompetent and are under influence of the prominent rich, political, Establishment and religious figures. Moreover, there were reports of little scale assistance installments asked for by court staff. The Transformation Index 2012 further reports that the overall population has little confidence in the legal framework, and corruption prevails in the whole of the system.

Many judges are absent from their courtrooms, spending time socializing in their chambers while litigants and lawyers wait all day. This is a form of corruption, as it involves dishonesty in fulfilling their duties.

As indicated by Freedom in the World 2013 report, the legal system in Pakistan is viewed as one of the organizations most tormented by corruption, especially in connection to the lower courts. Most of the higher court judges are appointed by politicians and the Establishment to exert influence on them. Judiciary needs to set free from the political influence so they can work freely.

The Transformation Index 2014 highlights political interference in Pakistan's legal and legislative branches. The legal system often bypasses Parliament, and higher courts have been influenced by politically motivated decisions. The process of selecting national-level judges is supposed to be transparent by law.

 

The Transformation Index 2014 highlights political interference in Pakistan's legal and legislative branches. The legal system often bypasses Parliament, and higher courts have been influenced by politically motivated decisions. The process of selecting national-level judges is supposed to be transparent by law.

Corruption is one of the big issues of the Pakistan. Every corner of the society is affected because of corruption. According to research, Judiciary of Pakistan has not been up to par. Justice is one of the biggest problems of this state. The aggrieved moves from one court to another court distressed and troubled. There are a million delay tactics to linger on the matter. The reader of the Judges are said to extend the dates of the hearing by getting paid. This also contributes to delay to a great extent. The judges are under a lot of burden and hence slow in the process. The judges are also influenced according to the research by many other things such as media, politicians and upper pressure by the Government. Even the former Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftekhar Chaudhary admitted that he failed to reduce corruption in the judicial system. Former Justice Shoukat Aziz Sadeqi was unjustly dismissed due to the undue influence of the Establishment and Army. In his speech at Rawalpindi Bar Council, he bravely revealed hidden truths about the Establishment. Similarly, the wrongful execution of former Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto raises questions about accountability. Even after 40 to 50 years, the judiciary admitted the error in his sentence. This highlights the urgent need for responsibility. The Bhutto family's power and influence are undeniable, but the lack of accountability in the judiciary is concerning. It is imperative to eradicate corruption and ensure fairness and justice for all.

EFFECT OF STRIKE ORDERS

A strike is an organized and collective demonstration by the people to have their demands or voices heard or accepted.  Lawyers are organized into various political factions, with their primary goal being to align with the demands and interests of their political leaders. As a result, they may decide to initiate a strike in pursuit of their objectives. Strikes are another reason for delay in civil litigation. These strikes put the whole system at a halt, and the dates of hearings are delayed accordingly. This is the most complained issue by every class of litigants. Though the lawyers might achieve something from these strikes, it is the litigants that suffer the most from such demonstrations. These strikes might not affect the state or the institution against whom they are made, but they do affect the litigants. People take leaves and put all the important commitments aside in making an effort to travel to the courts for justice, but such unexpected strikes and demonstrations render all that in vain, wasting the time and money of the justice-seeking aggrieved. According to the research conducted, this was the most complained reason for delay by the litigants. Delay in litigation is already a problem for the justice seekers; this enhances the problem to a much greater extent. Some lawyers are also against such strikes and call these demonstrations a foolish act. According to the research, lawyers have widely complained about this issue and stated that these strikes were not only an inconvenience for the aggrieved but for the lawyers too. In Pakistan, the strike trend was introduced when the Judges Issue arose during the era of Musharraf Pervez (Iftikhar Chaudry). During that time, every single day was a strike day, and a lot of inconvenience had been caused for the litigants. Civil litigation already took too much time and enhanced the existing problem to a much greater degree. If lawyers strike everyday then, how would the system function properly? Nobody would get timely justice and access what they rightly deserve. This issue, therefore, needs urgent resolution and the formation of a proper mechanism so that the aggrieved do not suffer more than they already do.

RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION

There are many flaws in the legal system of Pakistan. The system is such that people are not satisfied and filing a case is considered a punishment itself because of the fruitless and time consuming process. Therefore, it is now time and in fact a need that the system be changed immediately. In order to improve and develop the current system the prevailing method of serving justice should be changed. The lower courts therefore need steadfast reforms to bring an altogether change in the system

In Pakistan, the major flaws of the lower judicial system are listed below in concise points:

  • The disposal of the cases is unfortunately very nominal or small because the legal processes are very slow due to substantial number of adjournments at the lower stages.
  • Despite the fact that a handsome amount of income is generated from the Court fees, the Government does not allocate sufficient budget for the administration of the Courts needed to answer their day to day financial needs.

 Many vacancies are still unfilled and the Courts are under-staffed putting great pressure of workload on the Judges.

  • Corrupt practices prevail for example in order to defer the case’s progress summon is not served by the Bailiff. To eliminate this problem it is proposed that modern technology be adopted and summons be served through other new methods complying with the latest technology.
  • In the Lower Courts a lot of time is consumed on reading out large texts from the books and similarly case laws. In other developing countries such is not the case because CDs or disks of such material are handed over to the Judges.
  • Even after a long process when decrees are passed, the mechanism of execution is such that the decrees are not executed because the system lacks the latest and new judicial advancements. The procedure given in Code of Civil Procedure (CPC) is lengthy and time consuming. A separate body for execution should be made called the Execution Body which ensures that a decree is executed in the first instance and urgent arrest be made rather than giving the defendant chances through different options as prescribed in the CPC.
  • Furthermore the allowances and salary of the Judges of the Lower Courts is substantially low and such pay does not motivate the judges to work hard against such workload. This is one of the reasons why there is corruption in the system. It is therefore the need of the hour that more judges are trained, the education system be made efficient and more judges be appointed.

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