ISLAMABAD: For the first time in the judicial history of the country, the Supreme Court of Pakistan will on Monday put into use the e-Court system under which its registries in the provinces would be connected through the latest technology to its principal seat in the federal capital.

According to a statement issued on Thursday by the apex court’s public relations wing, the system would facilitate speedy disposal of outstanding legal matters pertaining to organisations and individuals in the provinces.

The facility would initially be utilised to connect the court’s principal seat in Islamabad and the Supreme Court Branch Registry, Karachi, said the statement.

A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Asif Saeed Khosa would start hearing cases through this facility on Monday.

As per the statement, the advocates in Karachi whose cases are fixed before Bench No 1 at the court’s principal seat may argue their cases in a courtroom at the court’s Karachi registry, which has been connected to Courtroom No 1 in Islamabad.

The cases would be heard and decided by the three-member bench in Islamabad through the use of e-Court, the statement said.

The court’s statement said: “Supreme Court of Pakistan will start e-Court system from next week on Monday, i.e. 27.05.2019. It is for the first time in the judicial history of Pakistan that courts will be connected through application of latest video-link connectivity.”

The system would benefit the lawyers as well as the litigants and make the judicial system more responsive to the needs of the people approaching courts to redress their grievances, added the statement.

Jurists are generally of the view that by enhancing access to the apex court’s principal seat, the e-Court facility would discourage adjournments and encourage legal fraternity to plead their cases without delays.

It would also provide convenience to the advocates as they would be able to pursue their cases while staying in the cities where the court’s branch registries are situated. It would also benefit the litigants as they would not have to travel all the way to Islamabad to take part in court proceedings.

This in turn would help improve disposal of cases and reduce backlog. The system would be cost-effective and would improve accessibility, added the jurists.

Published in Dawn, May 24th, 2019