Judge Yahya Afridi. PHOTO: ARCHIVE
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan’s Supreme Court has disposed of more cases than it received in the past three months, reflecting better case management and a slight reduction in the backlog, according to an official statement issued after the 10th progress meeting on judicial reforms, chaired by Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi.
During the period, 3,600 new cases were filed, while 5,383 were resolved, reducing the number of pending cases to 34,083. The meeting reviewed monthly performance, efforts to modernize judicial processes and measures to improve efficiency.
Read: CJP reviews progress in judicial reform agenda
CJP Afridi appreciated the improvement in clearance rate and ordered additional measures to strengthen case management. The meeting also decided that all pending death penalty appeals would be scheduled for hearings within the next 30 days, and that cases initiated through 2018 would be given priority to ease the burden on older litigation.
However, lawyers noted that the pace of case resolution in both the Supreme Court and the Federal Constitutional Court was largely unaffected after the 27th Amendment. Before the establishment of the constitutional court, the high court had 56,608 pending cases, of which 22,910 were transferred, leaving 33,698 in the hands of the Supreme Court. Despite the redistribution, more than 56,000 cases remain pending in both courts.
Read more: Lawyers question impact of 27th Amendment
Legal experts acknowledged some improvements in the resolution of criminal cases in the past two years, but expressed concern about the effectiveness of the constitutional court in reducing the overall backlog.
Former Additional Solicitor General Tariq Mahmood Khokhar criticized the court, saying that despite having seven judges, it had failed to significantly alleviate the backlog, pointing out that substantial public funds were being spent without tangible relief for litigants. Lawyer Hafiz Ehsan Ahmed also called for increasing the number of judges to improve judicial efficiency.
