Punjab to roll out first-ever integrated criminal justice system

LAHORE: In an unprecedented move to modernise and reform the criminal justice landscape, Punjab has initiated the development of Pakistan’s first-ever Integrated Criminal Justice System (ICJS), a digital platform aimed at eliminating systemic inefficiencies, strengthening institutional coordination and improving public access to justice.

The initiative of the Lahore High Court being implemented by the Punjab Home Department on the special directions of the Chief Justice of the LHC, is expected to be formally launched within the next three to four months, with Punjab taking the national lead in this long-awaited reform.

Highly placed sources told The News that the ICJS is being developed in collaboration with the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) and unites four core pillars of the justice sector Judiciary, Police, Prosecution, and Prisons into a single real-time digital ecosystem. At present, each of these departments operates in silos, using disparate systems such as the Police Station Record Management System (PSRMS), Case Flow Management System (CFMS), Court Management System (CMS), and the Prison Management Information System (PMIS). This fragmentation has led to frequent data duplication, prolonged case processing timelines, limited inter-agency communication, and an increased administrative burden resulting from manual data handling. Most importantly, it has severely hindered the effective tracking of suspects, under-trial individuals, and convicts.

According to the sources, Punjab’s justice system is under acute stress, with over 2.1 million pending cases, more than 600,000 of which are criminal in nature, straining courts across the province. Only 30 to 40 percent of these cases are resolved annually, leading to average delays of three to five years per criminal case, according to the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan. These delays have disproportionately impacted the most vulnerable. Prisons operate at 180 percent of their sanctioned capacity, with 72 percent of inmates still awaiting trial. Data from the Aurat Foundation highlights that nearly 70 percent of gender-based violence cases face chronic delays, while persons with disabilities often confront insurmountable barriers in navigating the judicial process.

The ICJS was first conceptualised through a set of Terms of Reference (TORs) signed on April 30, 2024, by all key stakeholders. The project was successfully piloted in Lahore and Rahim Yar Khan, and was formally inaugurated by the Honourable Chief Justice on April 10, 2025.