Alternative dispute resolution

The K-P provincial government has decided to resolve land disputes in the newly-merged tribal districts through the Alternative Dispute Resolution system in view of the increasing number of such disputes in these areas. This method enables parties to a dispute to resolve it with mutual negotiations on the guidance of a local panchayat or jirga comprising area notables. The government has finalised a draft to put in place a mechanism for alternative dispute resolution, and the draft will soon be presented to the provincial cabinet. Under the proposed system, the traditional jirgas will be given legal cover.

The ADR system will help resolve land disputes as well as other disputes. It will help people save both money and time considering that court cases linger for years and poor litigants are drained of their scant financial resources. This way, the ADR method reduces courts’ burden of cases too. Land disputes often occur in the former Fata region. Last year as many as 45 people had been killed over land disputes in Kurram agency. Locals blame the administration for lack of interest in resolving land disputes. Since land disputes have become quite a challenge for the authorities, the government has now decided to resolve them through ADR method.

At present, there is a heavy backlog of court cases, and this is mainly due to shortage of judges. There is no sufficient number of judges to decide the growing number of cases. Around 1,011 posts of judges are lying vacant all over the country. More than 48, 000 accused are in prison awaiting trial, and the number of convicts is over 25,000. A few years ago, former Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Asif Saeed Khosa estimated that if the vacant posts of judges were filled, the backlog of cases would be cleared in two years. Now people and companies in many countries are resolving disputes through ADR system instead of going to courts.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, March 15^th, 2021.

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