ISLAMABAD: Although trust in the judiciary has risen, along with legal awareness and education, 70pc of people in Pakistan still prefer to address their disputes traditionally or informally, by involving politicians, panchayat, jirgas and so on, the executive director of Gallup said on Friday.
Bilal Gilani was speaking at the launch of the World Justice Project’s (WJP) ‘Rule of Law Report’ at the Islamabad Club on Friday. WJP is a United States-based think tank, which conducts scientific surveys on the rule of law and access to justice in 113 countries.
As part of the survey, face-to-face interviews were conducted in Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta and Faisalabad with 2,100 households.
Pakistan ranks 106 out of 113 in US-based think-tank’s report
Mr Gilani said 70pc of men believed that women should not work outside the house, while 52pc of women believed they should be permitted to work outside the house.
He added that the survey had found that 75pc of people had, at least once in their lifetime, given a bribe in a government office or to government officials. In addition, 16pc of people had faced armed robbery, which rose to 33pc in Karachi.
“During the survey, it was learnt that people trust each other but they do not trust the state. Though 66pc of people trust the courts, they believe that government officers – especially high ranking officers, are hardly prosecuted. Only 17pc of people had trust in the police department,” he said.
International ranking
The report ranks Pakistan 106 out of 113 overall, and the survey ranked Pakistan somewhat higher in subcategories such as government accountability (72 out of 113) and criminal justice (81 out of 113).
Pakistan was ranked 106 out of 113 in civil justice, and 109 out of 113 in regulatory enforcement.
Nepal was the highest ranked country in South Asia, where nearly half the population believed that a fair and impartial investigation would be held against a government official, who would be punished if found guilty.
Afghanistan was also ranked higher than Pakistan, but they survey was only carried out in areas under the control of the Afghan National Government.
Commenting on the findings, Umer Gilani, a lawyer who was also a consultant on the project, said the worst performing part of the judicial system is civil justice.
“Everyone knows that you just can’t go to a court and get a simple contract enforced. Unfortunately, reform of the civil justice system is simply not on anyone’s agenda. We hope that these findings will stimulate some fresh thinking amongst judges, parliamentarians and law reform experts,” he said.
WJP Chief Research Officer Dr Alexandro Ponce, speaking via video-link, said the survey had revealed a lower crime rate compared to other neighbouring countries.
He said that although trust in the court system is low by global standards, it is still higher than the trust people have in the police.
Published in Dawn, August 26th, 2017
