Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Pakistan is currently formulating a Case Management Plan for 2023 aimed at addressing a significant backlog of approximately 59,191 cases pending in the apex court. This was revealed by the registrar during an in-camera meeting with the Full Court on Monday.
According to the registrar, the initiative, crafted by senior puisne judge Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, is part of the Supreme Court’s ongoing efforts to ensure timely resolution of cases.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi presided over the meeting, which lasted about two hours and was attended by all apex court judges. Notably, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, who is currently in Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah, participated in the meeting via video link.
The meeting focused on evaluating the Supreme Court’s performance in terms of the institution and disposal of cases, with particular emphasis on strategies to mitigate the existing backlog and enhance judicial efficiency.
Recent statistics from the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan revealed that the total number of pending cases has risen by 3.9% in the latter half of 2023, reaching a staggering total of 2.26 million cases.
This alarming figure was highlighted in a Bi-Annual Report on Judicial Statistics covering the period from July to December 2023.
The report provided a detailed breakdown of cases pending across various judicial levels, including the Supreme Court, the Federal Shariat Court, all High Courts, and the District Judiciary.
Significantly, about 82% of the pending cases—approximately 1.86 million—are located within the district judiciary, while the remaining 18%, or around 0.39 million cases, are pending in higher courts.
The Case Management Plan aims to establish clear standards and utilize information technology to effectively manage all types of cases.
During the meeting, the judges discussed various strategies designed to achieve the objectives outlined in the plan. Civil and criminal cases, as specified in the monthly framework, will be allocated to specialized three-member benches, ensuring a quicker and more efficient resolution process.
Judges actively contributed their insights and recommendations for further system improvements, demonstrating their commitment to addressing the backlog.
Justice Shah proposed a phased approach, starting with a one-month plan followed by subsequent three-month and six-month plans to systematically reduce the backlog and enhance procedural efficiency.
Chief Justice Afridi expressed gratitude to all judges for their dedication to fully implementing the Case Management Plan and achieving the established targets. The progress of this initiative will be reviewed in the next Full Court meeting scheduled for December 2, 2024.
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