RASTA: Local Research, Local Solutions: Law And Judiciary, Volume Xii
ABSTRACT
The dispensation of justice should be the central objective of a nation-state as justice and the rule of law are the backbone of a well-developed society. The present study focused on two major issues, i.e., it measured the efficiency of the lower/district courts of Punjab and it critically highlighted the bottlenecks specifically faced by these courts facing high rates of pendency and backlogs. The analysis is based on both the secondary and primary datasets. Three cities, namely, Lahore, Multan, and Rawalpindi – the most inefficient districts in the disposition of cases with huge caseloads and rates of institutions and pendency – were used as a sample of the study. The survey covered all court users, i.e., judges, lawyers, and litigants. Almost 8,300 respondents participated in the survey and the findings are presented both graphically and in the form of SERVQUAL analysis to measure the service quality of these courts from users’ perspective and highlight the areas of priority for correcting the system. Adjournments and cost of proceedings turned out to be the major reasons for the delay in the disposition of cases and training of judicial professionals and court automation was regarded as the big ‘leveller’ for improving the governance of the judicial system. SERVQUAL analysis showed that the judicial system was less empathetic towards the poor and less effective and responsive in terms of coordination between law enforcement agencies. Judges and lawyers both supported the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) settlement mechanism to reduce the burden of courts and to avoid the heavy cost of proceeding both in terms of monetary and time cost and also showed satisfaction with the use of the law of arbitration.
INTRODUCTION
Background and Introduction
The importance of a sound judicial system as one of the important pillars of economic development cannot be denied. A transparent judiciary builds the confidence and trust of investors and promotes the efficiency of social, economic, and political systems. However, in the case of developing economies, the judicial system faces major constraints, such as poor infrastructure, poor incentive systems, malpractices, lack of accountability, delays and backlogs, high costs of litigation, complex procedures, lack of judges and supporting staff, and the lack of transparency in appointments. These challenges ultimately cause socioeconomic and political unrest. Without a well-functioning judicial system, it is difficult to create public harmony and conflict resolution to create an enabling environment for sustained peace and security, enforcement of human rights, good governance, and economic development. Therefore, the dispensation of justice must be the central objective of a nation-state because justice and the rule of law form the backbone of a well-developed society.
This study focuses on two major issues. Firstly, it undertakes an efficiency analysis of the lower courts of Pakistan. Secondly, it aims to critically examine the bottlenecks faced specifically by the district courts of Pakistan. The lower courts are taken as the unit of analysis because these courts are facing the highest backlog and large caseloads (LJCP, 2020). Due to long procedural delays, the pendency rate is mounting every year along with the high rate of case institution resulting from the absence of the rule of law. Such delays also increase the cost of civil litigation making justice beyond the reach of the common man, which has severe social implications. Court congestion also affects the quality of justice.
According to the recent World Justice Project survey, Pakistan’s rank on the Rule of Law Index 2021 is disappointing at 130th out of 139 countries (WJP, 2021). This index is composed of eight dimensions including criminal and civil justice. Pakistan is ranked the lowest on justice, freedom, accountability, and gender disparities, which reflects the failure of our political, social, and economic systems.
The role of the judiciary is central to not only upholding social values but judiciary also plays an important role in economic development through enforcing contracts and property rights, stopping government officials from abusing power, and correcting market irregularities (Sherwood, 1995; Falavigna et al., 2019). New Institutionalists assert that only those economies are considered ‘high-performance economies’ that enforce long-term contracts with the lowest cost of enforcing contracts within their economic systems (North, 1990; Williamson, 1991). Therefore, a well-functioning judiciary system is an utmost need of both developed and developing economies for running their social, political, and economic systems by reducing transaction costs. The rule of law is an important ingredient to ensure trust and confidence in a reasonable business and investment environment. Smith (1795), Max Weber (19th century), and Hayek (1960) were the pioneers who recognised the importance of the judiciary for the enforcement of the rule of law, which leads to economic prosperity (Bendix 1960). Therefore, there is a need to improve the effectiveness of the court system to promote sustainable economic development. Similarly, World Bank (2004) also provides strategic measures and agenda for enhancing the ‘independence’ of the judiciary systems globally. Judicial corruption in the appointment of judges is detrimental to the quality of the justice system. The legal sector creates a supporting environment for investment, businesses, and strong financial markets. Hence, judicial reforms help to control corruption activities through accountability tools (Chong & Cozzubo, 2019).
One of the main objectives of legal reforms is to make access to judicial procedures, such as the initiation, preparation, enactment of law and regulation and publicising, easy for the common man. In addition, it also emphasises a proper training system for the judicial staff and case management system to avoid case backlogs by incorporating the role of technology as it may speed up the process of trial. According to World Bank (2004), developing countries must introduce training programmes for judicial staff, resolve matters related to appointments and promotions of judicial staff and law officers, bring transparency and discipline in decision-making procedures in addition to focus on the participatory role of civil society in bringing justice.
