Quick justice linked to judicial reforms

LAHORE: Renowned legal experts have said that reforms in the judicial system are essential to provide affordable and quick justice to the common man in Pakistan for which academia, bars and judiciary will have to work together.

They were addressing a roundtable conference on ‘The Role of Mediation in Enhancing Access to Justice in Pakistan’ jointly organised by Punjab University Law College and Institute for Legal Research and Advocacy.

On this occasion, Principal PU Law College Prof Dr Shazia Qureshi, Punjab Bar Council Vice Chairman Kamran Bashir Mughal, Chairman Board of Directors Institute for Legal Research and Advocacy Syed Shahbaz Bukhari, Chairman Board of Advisers Institute for Legal Research and Advocacy Zafar Iqbal Kalanauri, Associate Professor Dr Naeemullah Khan and students were present.

In his address, eminent legal expert Zafar Iqbal Kalanauri said that our judicial system runs on paper evidence, while there are some other systems to resolve disputes out of court around the world. He said that in Pakistan, there are disputes over marriage, dowry, money, women and land while the mediation system can play a positive role in solving these matters. He said that if reforms are not made in the judicial system, then it will take 320 years to solve the existing cases in the courts. He said that all the renowned lawyers in Pakistan and other countries are connected with Punjab University.

Kamran Bashir Mughal said that Bar Councils should benefit from educational institutions. He said that laws do exist in Pakistan but the problem is their enforcement in letter and spirit. He said that bar councils would continue to play their role in implementation of laws and many laws need to be amended.

Syed Shahbaz Bukhari said that there are family laws in Pakistan, but due to lack of proper practice, the rate of divorce is increasing. He said that there are a large number of companies in the country but according to the governing law, they do not hire legal advisers. He said that if the companies are compelled to follow the law, the job opportunities for the lawyers will increase. He said that each judge has a cause list of about 150 cases a day, while in other countries the judge’s cause list bears only two or three cases. He said that the arbitration system has to be reformed and implemented to resolve pending cases in the courts.

Prof Dr Shazia Qureshi while welcoming the participants said that the organisers deserve congratulations for bringing together academic and legal experts on one platform for legal discussion. She said that we also get to learn from such activities along with the students. She said that links between academia and courts should be promoted in Pakistan like other countries.

Dr Naeemullah Khan said that before the Constitution, people used to settle matters among themselves. He said that there is resistance to the arbitration system in Pakistan. He said that the bar councils played a role in interfering in the judicial system of the United Kingdom.