Case disposal: ‘Unit System gives an incomplete picture’

EU experts highlight problems in judicial procedures at symposium

LAHORE: European Union representatives highlighted lacunae in the judicial system which they said hindered quick dispensation of justice at a symposium titled Case Flow Management Reforms in Punjab – A Road Map on Wednesday.

Dr Osama Siddique, a senior expert with the EU-Punjab Access to Justice Programme, also suggested some steps to remove these loopholes for timely disposal of cases.

Lahore High Court’s Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Ayesha A Malik, Justice Abid Aziz Sheikh, Prosecution Department Secretary Ali Murtaza, Punjab Prosecutor General Ehtisham Qadir Shah, EU representatives John Lipton, Ashley Barr, Francis Bremson and Farah Azeem Khan were also present.

Siddique said there was need for clarity on the approach to penalising delays. He said it was important to find a balance between due process and preventing abuse of the process. He said there was no framework for pre-filing scrutiny and review of petitions. He mentioned capacity constraints of the court staff as another hurdle.

Siddique said constraints of the case-flow monitoring system, insufficient recourse to alternative dispute resolution, weaknesses of provisions related to costs and limitations on the presentation of evidence and adjournments, lack of administrative regulations for the legal fraternity and monitoring of court performance hindered quick disposal of cases.

Siddique said there should be extensive pre-trial checklists and additional case-specific directions and protocols to streamline case management.

Speaking on the Unit System to assess the performance of lower court judges, he said it overlooked the quality of justice dispensed and did not take into account the litigant’s court experience.

He said it also overlooked various stages of litigation leading to final disposal. He said the system gave an incomplete picture of case disposal.  He said a case-flow management policy was needed to address these issues. He said additional policies should be formulated to reduce the case backlogs with daily goals. He said policies were also needed to oversee case scheduling, case assignment, court calendars and alternative dispute resolution

Published in The Express Tribune, January 14^th, 2016.