Justice-to-citizens ratio

Article 10A of the constitution states: “For the determination of his civil rights and obligations or in any criminal charge against him a person shall be entitled to a fair trial and due process”. According to the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1997, the number of judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, other than the chief justice, shall be sixteen. In 1997, the population of Pakistan was 141.3 million, meaning there was one justice for approximately 8.3 million Pakistani citizens.

As per the new Supreme Court (Number of judges) (Amendment) Bill 2024 , the proposed number of justices is to be increased by five. There will be one SC justice for approximately 10.92 million Pakistanis, should this bill become law. This indicates a deterioration in the justice system. Either the population should be controlled, or the number of justices should be increased once a decade.

Syed Hussein El-Edroos

Islamabad