Improving Efficiency of the Court Service in Pakistan : A Comparative Study of the Options for Reform

Abstract

The project is directed to formulate recommendations to improve the efficiency of court service in Pakistan as to civil litigation at the district level. The New Civil Procedure Framework (NCPF) is presented as a reform model for Pakistan with a renewed theoretical construct, innovative strategies and specific practical measures. The study focuses on the efficiency perspective of court service, its appraisal and improvement through procedural and managerial tools. Efficiency is measured through quantifiable indicators using empirical data which shows delay and abuse of court process as alarming performance issues causing tremendous sufferings for the end-users in Pakistani district courts. This analysis offers clues to identify the problem areas, i.e. outdated procedural law and its underlying theoretical assumptions and case management deficit. The NCPF, being a unique reform model, at first identifies the theoretical fault lines of the existing system and its inadequacy to contain performance issues in the long run. The broad framework of Woolf’s experiment and Singapore’s judicial modernization are taken into account while designing the NCPF, but the effort remained far from a blind replication. The magnitude and intensity of delay and abuse of court process in Pakistan necessitated looking beyond Woolf and Singapore. Though the theoretical foundation of NCPF model draws on Woolf’s theory of balancing key imperatives (i.e. accuracy, expedition and economy) and the principle of proportionality, yet the innovative neo-proceduralist approach is its distinguishing feature. It is argued that the law must dictate the pace of litigation while the judge is only to execute the compliance regime with no or little discretion to condone. Following these constructs, the NCPF requires rigours initial scrutiny of cases, forewarning as to penal consequences of frivolous litigation and non-compliance, pre-planning, and use of modern management and digital tools to ensure expedition and efficiency of judicial service in Pakistan.