Fixing The Faulty Justice System

3/30/2021 Fixing the faulty justice system - Daily Times
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Fixing the faulty justice system

Female victims of violence are particularly failed by the justice system of the country time and
again and it has been said that the system is biased against women because of lack of gender
sensitization
Ailia Zehra 0
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OCTOBER 30, 2018
Pakistan’s criminal justice system has long been blamed

for failing to deliver justice to the weaker groups and
lacking the capacity to ensure fair trials. Last month,
Supreme Court ordered the release of 21-year-old man
named Muhammad Adnan who was arrested 11 years ago
when he was charged with trafficking drugs — at the age
of 10. There have been a number of cases in the recent
past where citizens held under criminal charges for years
were later found not guilty.
In April, the apex court acquitted a woman, Asma Nawab,

and two others in a 20-year-old case related to killing of
her parents and brother. The acquittal was based on
grounds of “insufficient evidence”. It served as yet
another reminder that such massive travesties of justice
https://dailytimes.com.pk/316147/fixing-the-faulty-justice-system/ 1/13
can so easily happen. The list of victims of the justice

system’s inefficiency is long.
Concerns have been raised by several quarters time and

again in this regard, but the judiciary under Chief Justice
Saqib Nisar is yet to take any substantive steps to
strengthen access to justice. On the contrary, the chief
justice appears to be more interested in issues that do not
fall under his domain.
Last month, a three-member bench of the SC headed by

the CJ heard a petition filed by five young lawyers
proposing judicial reforms by amending the high court
rules.
The petitioners have called on the SC to focus on six areas

to reduce the backlog in the civil justice system. These
areas include framing of high court rules,
reinterpretation of civil procedure code, publishing
relevant judicial data/statistics, formulating a new
judicial policy, enforcement of the law of costs, and
enforcement of anti-perjury laws.
Legal expert Reema Omer terms the hearing of the case

positive and says it is a good opportunity for the SC to
respond to some tough questions about the delays in the
civil justice system and more towards reform.
In June, while hearing the case in question, the CJ

conceded that being head of an institution he had failed
to “put his house in order”. “I admit openly that I have
been unable to put the house in order,” the chief justice
had acknowledged. Judges in the past have also spoken
about fixing the loopholes of the justice system, but
hardly anyone moved beyond lip service.
“Reform of the criminal justice system would require

substantial reform of a number of institutions — which
have historically been resistant to change — including
the prosecution, the police and the judiciary, each of
which has its own set of complications,” Reema says. She

adds that there is also a need to revise and update the
legislation related to criminal justice — both substantive
and procedural.
“Take the number of judges, for example. Pakistan has on

average 10 judges for 1 million people. The world average
is close to 50.”
On the question of access to fair trial, she says there is

resistance to the idea of “fair trial” in Pakistan,
particularly for “sensitive” issues like corruption,
terrorism and other serious crimes. “This has grown in
the age of social media, where public outrage has
reversed the premise of a fair trial and that of the
presumption of innocence. People are more interested in
vengeance and “exemplary punishments” than the idea
of justice where guilt is established beyond reasonable
doubt after a fair trial,” she says.
The myth of “speedy justice”
Some laws enacted in order to strengthen “speedy justice”

are often marred by allegations of unfairness.
Reema says the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), the NAB

ordinance, 23rd constitutional amendment/military
courts etc. were enacted for speedy justice, but
compromise on basic fair trials rights. “This entire
understand of justice needs rethinking.”
In response to another question, she says the SC is one of

many actors and stakeholders that must work together to
“fix” the justice system. “But it is important for the SC to
set the right narrative, which unfortunately has been
lacking.”
Legal expert Reema Omer says

people are more interested in
”
vengeance and “exemplary

punishments” than the idea of
justice — where guilt is established
beyond reasonable doubt after a fair
trial
When asked whether or not the current judiciary is

serious about “putting the house in order”, Reema says,
“Instead of institutional reform, the SC has been more
concerned with expanding its 184(3) jurisdiction —
including to bypass the lower judiciary and impede on
the constitutional domains of other organs of the state.
The use of original jurisdiction — including suomotu —
may deliver the desired outcome in a handful of cases,
but it does nothing to strengthen the regular justice
system that millions of litigants have to encounter
outside of the Supreme Court.
Under-representation of women in judiciary
Female victims of violence are particularly failed by the

justice system of the country time and again and it has
been said that the system is biased against women
because of lack of gender sensitization. “Much needs to
be done on this front, both at an institutional level and at
the level of changing mindsets and worldview of our
prosecutors, our police, and our judges,” Reema says,
adding that one major shortcoming is the abysmally low
number of women in our criminal justice system,
particularly in positions of leadership.
“We only have 5 per cent women judges in high courts;

we have never had a woman Justice in the Supreme
Court; and the Pakistan Bar Council — that regulates the
legal profession — has never had a woman member.”
Reema further says that experience from around the

world has shown a strong correlation in the number of
women participants in the criminal justice system and

the system’s capacity to better protect women’s human
rights.
The writer is Assistant Editor, Daily Times. She writes on

counter-terrorism, human rights and freedom of speech
among other issues. She tweets at @AiliaZehra and can be
reached at ailiazehra2012@gmail.com
Published in Daily Times, October 30th 2018.
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3/30/2021 Fixing the faulty justice system - Daily Times

HOME PAKISTAN WORLD EDITORIALS & OPINIONS BUSINESS SPORTS

ARTS, CULTURE & BOOKS LIFESTYLE E-PAPER 

Pakistan’s criminal justice system has long been blamed

In April, the apex court acquitted a woman, Asma Nawab,

can so easily happen. The list of victims of the justice

Concerns have been raised by several quarters time and

Last month, a three-member bench of the SC headed by

The petitioners have called on the SC to focus on six areas

Legal expert Reema Omer terms the hearing of the case

In June, while hearing the case in question, the CJ

“Reform of the criminal justice system would require

which has its own set of complications,” Reema says. She

“Take the number of judges, for example. Pakistan has on

On the question of access to fair trial, she says there is

The myth of “speedy justice”

Some laws enacted in order to strengthen “speedy justice”

Reema says the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), the NAB

In response to another question, she says the SC is one of

Legal expert Reema Omer says

vengeance and “exemplary

When asked whether or not the current judiciary is

Under-representation of women in judiciary

Female victims of violence are particularly failed by the

“We only have 5 per cent women judges in high courts;

Reema further says that experience from around the

women participants in the criminal justice system and

The writer is Assistant Editor, Daily Times. She writes on

Published in Daily Times, October 30th 2018.

Facebook Comments Plugin

This Is How To Use VPNs To Stream Movies In

This Cheap Drone Might Be The Best Selling Gift

Jannat Mirza to make her acting debut

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