KARACHI: The provincial cabinet’s decision to approve the draft Sindh Medico-Legal Bill 2023 will help establish the decade-old system on modern and scientific lines as the government would set up a forensic medicine institute as well as the medico-legal directorate after legislation, it emerged on Sunday.

The Sindh cabinet had on Saturday given the go-ahead to the draft law so that it could be tabled in the provincial assembly for legislation.

Official sources told Dawn that presently, medico-legal service in the province was considered as an ‘unorganised’ one since it has no service structure and job description and lacked key performance indicators as well as standard guidelines.

They said that the draft bill was formulated on the insistence of experts familiar with the medico-legal system in Sindh and other provinces as they demanded substantial changes in the legal framework of the medico-legal service.

Govt is going to table draft medico-legal bill in assembly after cabinet approved it

The sources said that the UN-Women, Legal Aid Society, Gender Crime and Human Rights Department and other organisations had raised their voices at different forums in this regard.

On April 27, the provincial health department had constituted a high-level ‘technical committee’, led by Health Minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho with Police Surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed as its secretary.

The committee had prepared the draft Sindh Medico-Legal Bill 2023 that provided a comprehensive framework for medico-legal service in the province.

Besides, the proposed law will offer an improved career path for health professionals at all tiers of the service.

The police surgeon told Dawn on Sunday that the bill would provide standardised medico-legal services across the province under which a Sindh medico-legal directorate would also be established.

Under the proposed law, the Sindh Institute of Forensic Medicine would also be established for capacity building.

“The Sindh Medico-legal Directorate will oversee administrative and technical aspects of the medico-legal services across the province,” she said, adding that an accountability mechanism would be put in place.

She said that standard operating procedures would be developed on the basis of ‘international best medico-legal practices’.

She hoped that the proposed law would improve the criminal justice system.

A framework for performance management and development of key performance indicators for medico-legal work force would also be introduced, she said, adding: “The bill addresses the gaps in resources and clinical management of victims of violence.”

She added that the medico-legal service delivery to the general public would be brought at par with international best medico-legal practices with strong ethical guidelines. “The medico-legal documentation will be digitised and connected with the main database of police.”

Nurses would be trained and inducted as ‘forensic nurses’ and accredited medico-legal facilities would be provided.

“Under the proposed law, the coordination between actors of the criminal justice system [medico-legal dept, police and prosecution) will be enhanced for better and quicker case disposals,” said the police surgeon.

She pointed out that capacity-building sessions, performance-based incentives, career pathway and a separate cadre for medico-legal work force would be developed.

She further said that the proposed law would address gaps in the medico-legal services in terms of human and other resources.

Published in Dawn, July 24th, 2023