present system of FIR is found to be highly exploitative where innocent people are harassed and even put behind bars on the basis of false FIRs. The legal package, it is said, seeks reforms in those areas which touch upon the lives of every individual, one way or the other.
The draft package suggests elimination of procedure wherein succession certificates/ inheritance registers via institutions including the Lahore Development Authority, Capital Development Authority, are acquired. Under the proposed law, live succession certificates will be processed through Nadra in non-contentious cases.
To check inordinate delays stemming from the issuance and receipt of court summons in civil cases, it is proposed to privatise the task, which will help eliminate corruption and slackness on the part of government agencies.To check delays of years and decades in the disposal of civil cases, the number of present multiple appellate fora are being reduced.
The reforms also seek the introduction of timelines with milestones as well as penalties/ costs for non-compliance. The package also seeks creation of a Legal Service of Pakistan, which will serve as an incubating ground for incoming talent at all levels of the legal sphere: the training of prospective candidates for civil judge, or officers in various legal capacities including the office of the advocate general, attorney general, public defenders’ office, and the Office of Solicitor General will be introduced.
The package also recommends introducing costs of litigation, regardless of which litigant is ultimately victorious. Those costs – i.e. launching an unsuccessful, frivolous claim, shall remain, but whosoever is found to impede the course of justice will also pay costs and whosoever infringes on the prescribed time period shall also pay costs.
Regarding criminal matter only, the sessions court is proposed to be empowered to decide such cases at the level of first instance. All existing courts will be upgraded.