The judiciary in Pakistan is one of the pillars of the state responsible for upholding rule of law, ensuring justice, and protecting citizens’ rights.
However, Pakistan's Supreme Court faces significant challenges, primarily due to an overwhelming backlog of cases for the last many years. These delays in case resolutions often erode public confidence and hinder citizens' access to timely justice, which according to the constitution is a fundamental citizen right.
To address this, Pakistan urgently needs and has no option except to increase the substantial number of judges in its Supreme Court, high courts and district courts. Alongside this, the legal and structural reforms are essential for enhancing judicial efficiency and trust, reducing backlogs, and ensuring justice is served in a timely manner. There is no doubt that to ensure a sustainable future, Pakistan’s judicial system requires both immediate and long-term measures.
According to recent data, Pakistan’s Supreme Court has a backlog of more than 60,000 cases, a figure that continues to rise and people are waiting months and years for even their first hearing of the case which with time has become the biggest challenge for the Supreme Court.
This case backlog is attributed to a combination of many factors in the Supreme Court, including limited judges and less judicial manpower and complex procedural delays. Cases can often take years in the Supreme Court, if not decades, to reach a conclusion, which results in denying justice to citizens and impacting their lives, businesses, and livelihoods. This has become a big concern for the whole justice system.
The main contributor to the increase in delays and an increase in case backlog is the amount of time spent by the Supreme Court on constitutional-political matters filed in the last few years by political parties in the name of public interest or the amount of enforcement or violation of fundamental rights which should have been decided on parliamentary forums.
The concept of ‘justice delayed is justice denied’ is particularly relevant in this context for the long-term pendency in the Supreme Court of Pakistan which has been increased every year. Prolonged delays of cases in the Supreme Court not only affect those directly involved in legal disputes but also harm society's overall sense of justice and rule of law.
Therefore, increasing the number of judges in the Supreme Court is a logical step towards managing this overwhelming caseload more effectively and that can provide immediate relief by distributing the workload more equitably. This would allow judges to focus on specific cases or legal areas, improving both the quality and speed of judgments.
The last time the strength of Supreme Court judges was increased through an act of parliament was the year 1997. At that time, Pakistan’s population stood at only 131 million. Case pendency at the time was half of what it is today. Now the population has increased to more than 250 million and 27 years have passed. So parliament has rightly now doubled the number of Supreme Court judges from 17 to 34 through new legislation by considering the current population, pendency figures of cases, public anxiety and more importantly the availability of judges required for the constitutional benches which is going to be established soon.
More judges in the Supreme Court through this act of Parliament will provide a way to easily handle cases and will definitely decrease the time each case takes on awaiting a hearing, resulting in faster decisions and reduced backlog, So the present legislation for increasing the strength of Supreme Court judges from 17 to 34 should be considered from this perspective and should not be used for anti-political sloganeering and rhetoric.
There is no doubt that when we look at the history of judicial reforms, there have always been many recommendations for improving the judicial system in Pakistan, and one of the primary recommendations has been to increase the strength of judges not only at the Supreme Court level but also within high courts and district courts and to invest substantially in the justice system with replacement of outdated legislation.
Now, the federal and provincial governments should also immediately take steps to increase the strength of judges in provincial high courts and district courts alongside new legislation and eradication of outdated and complex procedural laws in the larger and best interest of the country.
Increasing the number of judges in Pakistan’s Supreme Court through an act of parliament is a good step in addressing the chronic case backlog and enhancing judicial efficiency. This would help increase public trust when their cases are fixed and decided at the earliest. However, this increase in judges in the Supreme Court must be accompanied by a comprehensive reform strategy that embraces digital transformation, legislative support, and capacity building.
Pakistan’s judiciary has the potential to be a pillar of stability, fairness, and justice, but this can only be achieved through concerted efforts to modernize the system. In doing so, Pakistan can ensure that its citizens experience timely and effective justice, restoring faith in the judiciary and strengthening the rule of law.
The writer is a practising advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan with 25 years of legal standing. He can be reached at:
hafizahsaan47@gmail.com
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