Pending cases

WITH Pakistan’s justice system now a regular feature of the news cycle, some of its inner weaknesses are also receiving more attention. It should be seen as a positive development that may help catalyse the resolution of some long-standing issues.
For example, the Supreme Court has recently raised fresh concerns regarding frivolous, vexatious and speculative legislation amidst a growing backlog of pending cases stuck in the justice system, which have now crossed 2.2m.
“Such litigation must be rooted out and strongly discouraged,” Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah remarked, while hearing a case involving a property dispute. Before dismissing the suit, he proposed imposing financial costs on litigants who waste the court’s time. If implemented widely and as proposed, this may prove a good step in a country where the law is often used as a mechanism for prolonging disputes instead of resolving them.
Unfortunately, there is currently no means of expeditiously “rooting out” cases that may be frivolous, vexatious or speculative, which is why the introduction of penalties may seem like the only solution. However, with recent developments in technology, it may be possible to develop AI-based tools that can help flag problematic cases based on their history. It seems worth pointing out that the judiciary has, in recent years, adopted several technological innovations like e-courts and the digitisation of court procedures and documents with the aim of reducing the case backlog.
Combining stricter penalties for filing frivolous cases with innovative, technology-assisted strategies may help clear the pile-up more quickly than expected. Meanwhile, the superior judiciary should also consider in-house workshops to help judges better identify situations where litigants may not be acting in good faith and encourage the enforcement of penalties consistently and across the board. A set of guidelines may prove helpful in this regard.
As the aphorism goes, justice delayed is justice denied. But ordinary people who get caught up in court cases are not only deprived of timely justice, they are also forced to undergo immense emotional and financial stress throughout the litigation process. This is why a holistic and concerted approach to reducing the case backlog is necessary if the public’s dwindling faith in the justice system is to be restored. Reconfiguring the system to dispense justice in more efficient ways will also have a positive impact on the economic milieu because investors cannot make business decisions in environments where disputes may not be settled for years.
Lastly, to limit the growing pendency of cases, the Supreme Court should also address the practice of seeking and giving adjournments on frivolous grounds. Costs and penalties should be imposed consistently on the responsible parties if proceedings are postponed for any reason other than the most unavoidable circumstances.
Published in Dawn, August 5th, 2024