Lahore chamber seeks amendments

LAHORE: The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has asked the parliament to approve amendments in the outdated Code of Civil Procedure 1908, as after approval of amendments, businessmen can get speedy decisions, a statement said on Saturday.

LCCI President Almas Hyder said that a major cause of delay in Pakistan’s civil litigation system is that when a party files a suit accompanied with an injunction/ stay application, the main suit does not proceed.

The court only then focuses on the stay application, which takes many years to decide the stay / injunction, he said, adding that the main suit remains in a state of inertia.

A new concept of a two tier-system has been proposed in the amendment. Two different judges will hear the entire suit. In the first tier, the main case would be heard by one judge without interruption till the finalisation of the proceedings. Stay and other miscellaneous applications would be heard in the second tier by another judge.

Hyder said that such a change will reduce massive period of civil litigation to a maximum of two years or a little more, including appeals.

In civil litigation, especially in matters relating to land, property and revenue disputes, the decisions are based on inspections, including physical demarcations effected by patwaris, mukhtiakars, lower grade revenue officers who often manipulate or give false reports, which resulted in appeals and applications by aggrieved parties being stuck in litigation for years.