ACCORDING to Article 37 (d) of the Constitution, every citizen of the state has the right to “inexpensive and expeditious” justice. And yet, one of the foremost grievances against the legal system in this country is its sheer lethargy, resulting in a massive backlog of cases, many of which are described as ‘frivolous’ by litigators who say these will never be resolved, wasting precious time and resources in the process. At the beginning of the year, an estimated 1.9m cases awaited the new chief justice, Asif Saeed Khosa, who had said he wanted to build “... a dam against undue and unnecessary delays in judicial determination of cases”. He proposed the setting up of model courts in every district of the country to conduct daily trials on murder and narcotics-related cases (for now). The idea of model courts, as they exist today, was first introduced by him. The courts were under the supervision of Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, albeit restricted to Punjab. Unlike the district courts, which suffer from budgetary constraints, model courts have greater administrative and technological facilities. They deliver verdicts under an agreed timeline, without adjournment. Additionally, a monitoring and evaluation cell under the command of the chief justice or chairman of the National Judicial (Policy Making) Committee reviews the workings of the courts every two months.

While all this sounds commendable in theory — and model courts have indeed had success in parts of the country — introducing them across Pakistan will present its own set of challenges, particularly when we remember Chief Justice Khosa’s own complaint about the lack of judges in the country. There is also a fear that, if not handled carefully, model courts may eventually devolve into a parallel legal system, as opposed to remaining a complementary one. Lastly, despite the maxim that justice delayed is justice denied, ‘speedy justice’ can be misused as a cover for denying a fair trial. In the quick dispensation of ‘justice’, due process must still be ensured.

Published in Dawn, April 10th, 2019