A great man, Martin Luther King Jr., once said that a nation’s greatness should be measured by how well it treats its weakest members; justice is its first condition. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice only when we dare to bend it through reform and action.
Pakistan has 2.6 million pending cases, some dating back to the 1960s.
Undoubtedly, the justice system is the edifice of the prosperity of nations. History has witnessed a strong justice system improve the meager conditions of people and led countries to the height of glory. However, the 21st century has witnessed dramatic transformation and the rise of Artificial Intelligence; the judicial system also needs to take a pragmatic approach in the era of AI for the better utilization of justice in Pakistan.
The developed world is rapidly incorporating AI and digitizing the judicial system to deliver timely justice to its citizens. We must empower our country to pave the way towards the digitization of the judicial system for the effective delivery of justice as well.
Unfortunately, 2.6 million cases are stuck in Pakistan, in which ninety thousand are tax-related cases and 2.7 trillion rupees are stuck in Pakistan in the disputed cases, due to the delay of the justice system, and absence of timely hearings. Even some cases are from the 1960s. Only four thousand judges are there to deal with 240 million inhabitants of Pakistan, which means 1.6 judges for 1 lac people. The Global average number of judges is 6-10 and the European average is 16-18.
The judicial system which is the backbone for the growth of the country is in a meager condition and we have forgotten that a strong justice system is an engine of economic growth, as evidenced by China and Singapore.
Reforms are needed to digitize the judicial system of Pakistan and create a peaceful environment for the masses to live in. Currently, we are facing backlogs of cases. Papers are filed manually with different payment systems, causing bribery. Hearings are long, and persistent adjournment issues are delaying the justice system. A broken evidence system, absence of an evidence storage system, and also fees, challans, and other payments are not digitized yet. Absence of judges and lawyers and the delaying tactics of lawyers are undoubtedly affecting the smooth functioning of our system.
Only 1.6 judges serve per 100,000 people, compared to the global average of 6-10.
There must be integration of AI into the system as several developed countries are doing. We should establish auto-published portals to make the masses aware of the judgments. The evidence process should be integrated and we must connect the API with NADRA, FIA for the verification of documents. AI should be used for initial scrutiny and AI-generated Briefs must be introduced and AI-equipped clerks are the need of the hour.
Create physical evidence submission centers and implement reminder systems to track lawyers’ absence to see the delaying tactics of lawyers. Portals should work on online scheduling and rescheduling of cases. E-hearing and E-courts will be established to facilitate people coming from remote areas. They will benefit from the video conference facility to submit their hearings. We can issue tenders to private companies to build courts and digital chambers to ease the already constrained budget of the government. Filling the online portal and digital case file system with the facility of QR code is important, in this, we can inform plaintiffs and defendants about their case and hearing information.
Like in the UAE and Singapore, where 90% litigation is already digital, fees, challans, and payment systems should be equally digitized. Create or adapt AI-based platforms for research (like Westlaw and LexisNexis) to help lawyers and judges get the relevant statutes, precedents, and case law from the cradle of the English legal system in no time. This will improve decision-making efficiency, reduce wasted efforts, and promote consensus on opinions.
A phased rollout with nationwide cooperation involving the judiciary, MOIT, NADRA, FIA, and private players of legal tech firms is important. Envision short-term (1-2 years) and long-term (5-10 years) goals for reform.
AI-equipped clerks and digital portals can speed up case processing and improve transparency.
An introduction to blockchain technology would also improve judgments, logs of evidence, and court orders. These should act as unalterable, auditable proof in digital form. The government must design a portal to serve as the validation of the lawyers’ registration, their performance tracking, and minimize the list of false or unregistered professionals. In the digital world we must not lag behind our peers and others in digitizing the judicial system because without a robust justice system, we cannot uplift the social status of our people and progress towards joining the great countries leading in justice and rule of law.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. They do not represent the views, beliefs, or policies of the Stratheia.
