Body to address issue of protracted litigation and injunctive orders

TERENCE J SIGAMONY

ISLAMABAD: The National Judicial (Policy Making) Committee (NJPMC) constituted a body to address issue of protracted litigation and injunctive orders in cases of commercial, revenue and fiscal nature for formulating recommendations.

Justice Shafi Siddiqui, a judge of Supreme Court, will head the Committee, comprising Justice Abid Aziz Sheikh from Lahore High Court (LHC), Justice Agha Faisal from Sindh High Court (SHC), Justice Arshad Ali from Peshawar High Court (PHC), attorney general for Pakistan (AGP) and chairman Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).

The committee shall also examine the suggestion of the attorney general regarding Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards and place its recommendations in the next meeting.

The 54th meeting of the NJPMC was convened on Monday at the Supreme Court under the chairmanship of chief justice of Pakistan. It was attended by the chief justices of all the High Courts, while AGP Usman Mansoor Awan attended on special invitation.

The NJPMC, unanimously, reiterated the need for a comprehensive mechanism for ensuring production of any detained person before the magistrate within 24 hours.

The AGP ensured that such mechanism would be developed and placed before the Committee in its next meeting.

The committee for safeguarding judicial independence commended the High Courts for formulating standard operating procedures (SOPs), but emphasised the inclusion of stage-wise timelines from complaint filing to final action.

It was decided that all such instances of extraneous influence shall be reported within 24 hours and action thereon shall be finalised within 14 days. The SOPs should also provide for immediate redressal measures to safeguard the dignity of the complainant judge. Additionally, a reporting mechanism to the chief justice of Pakistan was desired for information and intervention, where necessary. The High Courts shall notify the SOPs and share the same with LJCP.

The NJPMC, while acknowledging the commendable efforts made by the high courts, prescribed uniform timelines for the disposal of various categories of cases; Declaratory Suit (Land Disputes) in 24 months, Declaratory Suit (Inheritance Disputes) 12 months, Injunction Suit (Land Disputes) six months, Recovery Suit (Public Revenue/ Money Matters) 12 months, Specific Performance (Contract Enforcement) 18 months, Rent Cases six months, Family Suit (Dissolution/ Dower/ Maintenance/ Guardianship) six months, Succession Cases (Uncontested) two months, Execution Petitions/ Family Court Decree six months, Execution Petitions/ Banking Court Decree 12 months, Execution Petitions/ Civil Court Decree 12 months, Execution Petitions/ Rent Matters three months, Criminal Trial (Juvenile Offenders-JJSA, 2018 six months, Criminal Trial (Punishment up to seven years in 12 months, Criminal Trial (Punishment above seven years) in 18 months, Criminal Trial (Murder) 24 months, Labour cases in six months.

These timelines would be considered as one of the key performance indicators in judges’ performance evaluation and would be in-built at the dashboard.

The committee, expressed its deep appreciation for the progress made by the SHC and the PHC, noting that these efforts would significantly contribute to enhancing access to justice and ensure its effective and timely delivery. It was further observed that such initiatives reflect strong institutional commitment to continuous improvement for making justice system citizen-centric.

The committee acknowledged the progress made by the High Courts and underscored the importance of pre-trial mediation. The attorney general for Pakistan assured that the forum would be updated about the progress on legislative intervention at federal and provincial levels about mandatory pre-trial mediation in the next meeting.

Agenda items concerning performance evaluation, standardized recruitment, establishment of a District Judiciary Policy Forum (DJPF), parity in terms and conditions of service, and access to international exposure opportunities were taken jointly. The NJPMC, unanimously, decided to include the chief justice LHC in the committee formulating recommendations on these matters, to be finalised before the next meeting.

The committee expressed satisfaction with progress on the Professional Excellence Index, recognising it as a vital instrument for promoting professional standards and strengthening justice system effectiveness.

After deliberation, the forum desired the High Courts to establish an accessible, user-friendly public forum at both the High Courts and District Courts level for provision of information and complaint redressal.

The forum, while appreciating the efforts made by the LHC, decided that the High Courts may pilot the initiative for oldest civil cases in chronological order. The High Courts may determine the number of Model Civil Courts in each district keeping in view the number of target cases. The district and sessions judges may assign such case to Model Civil Courts under a time bound trial regime.

The committee deliberated on jail reforms and resolved to share the reports of Provincial Sub-Committees and the Prison Reform Action Plan with the High Courts for input. A National Prison Policy will be formulated and placed before the next meeting. The forum was further sensitised to the issues of suspension of sentence pending appeal under Section 426 CrPC; Repatriation of Judicial Officers of Special Courts and Tribunals.

The AGP assured that the matter of delay in repatriation of judicial officers posted in special courts and tribunals would be looked into pragmatically. He committed that the high courts would be facilitated for posting of audit officers in coordination with accountants general of the provinces for carrying out internal audit.