PESHAWAR: Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi said here on Thursday that bar was a key partner in the ongoing development of standardised e-filing templates and their effective implementation in future.
In his capacity as chairman of National Judicial (Policy Making) Committee (NJPMC), he held a consultative meeting with a delegation of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council at Supreme Court of Pakistan, Branch Registry Peshawar.
The delegation was led by KP Bar Council vice-chairman Asfandyar Khan and included members from various districts of the province. The meeting formed part of the ongoing consultative process initiated earlier this month for the development of a uniform and standardised national e-filing framework across Supreme Court, high courts and district courts.
According to a press release, the participants of the meeting were apprised of the proposed National Standardised E-Filing System, envisaged as a structured, intelligent and rules-compliant platform aligned with the procedural and legal requirements governing judicial proceedings.
The framework is intended to promote simpler filing, procedural consistency, effective case tracking and a unified electronic case record across judicial hierarchy.
The CJP said that bar, being a principal user of the proposed framework, was a key partner in the development of standardised e-filing templates and their effective implementation. He encouraged participants to provide practical input so that the system remains accessible, user-friendly and responsive to professional requirements.
Members of the delegation welcomed the initiative and expressed support for a standardised national approach to electronic filing for the facilitation of advocates and litigants.
It was decided that a committee comprising the registrars of all high courts and two members nominated by each provincial bar council and the Islamabad Bar Council should review and finalise the standardised e-filing templates.
Upon finalisation, the framework will be placed before NJPMC for consideration and appropriate policy directions.
The initiative forms part of the judiciary’s broader reform agenda to modernise and integrate court processes through technology and make justice delivery more accessible, efficient, transparent and responsive to the needs of litigants and lawyers.
It merits a mention that building on the experience of Supreme Court’s existing e-filing system, the proposed framework seeks to extend its benefits across the judicial hierarchy through uniform national standards, greater procedural consistency and an integrated digital case-filing process.
Under the SC Rules, 2025, all petitions and paper books must now be filed electronically; scanned copies are mandatory. Similarly, notices, orders, certified copies, and pleadings will be issued digitally.
Published in Dawn, August 28th, 2026
