Daily Times

A strong criminal justice system is necessary to maintain social fairness and ensure social order. It consists of a range of institutions, laws, and customs designed to prevent crime, punish offenders, and protect people’s rights and safety. The existence of a strong and efficient criminal justice system deters potential offenders from committing crimes. It may dissuade people from behaving illegally if they are aware that there are legal implications for doing so, which helps to prevent crime and protect potential victims. The primary goal of any criminal justice system has always been to punish the perpetrator or offender so that crime can be effectively regulated and no one dares to break the law or take the law into his own hands, ultimately upholding the rule of law without favour or dread through state machinery and apparatus.

The criminal justice system in Pakistan is constantly beset by problems such as corruption, antiquated laws and procedures, delays, and poor infrastructure. It affects the police, court system, and prosecution, all of which regularly imperil the objectivity and fairness of investigations, trials, and rulings. Pakistan has been classified among the lowest-ranking countries in terms of the rule of law, and even Pakistanis are dissatisfied with the technique and present progress of Pakistan’s criminal justice system, which is understandable. This is exacerbated by a lack of investment in new legislation, judicial procedures, and technical and forensic investigation. As a result, our criminal justice system is heavily reliant on testimony, which frequently leads to the police acquiring an inadmissible confession and then constructing evidence based on the confession, which is exceedingly rare in the modern world. Aside from efficiency and transparency difficulties, this creates a climate conducive to torture and abuse of the entire system.

The criminal justice system is heavily reliant on testimonial evidence.

Other major issues in our Criminal Justice System include a large number of pending criminal cases, police accountability, and a lengthy delay in the disposition of criminal cases on the one hand, and a disproportionately low rate of conviction in cases involving serious crimes on the other, as well as a lack of witness protection programs. Currently, the most important concerns affecting the criminal justice system are police recruitment and retention. The ineffective testimony-based investigation and prosecution system has allowed investigators and judges almost free discretion in determining which evidence to accept and rely on, and which sentence to impose in the case of a conviction.

The prosecution, which is seen as an independent pillar of the criminal justice system, has tragically never fully grown in Pakistan, and as a result, the prosecution’s job is only that of a post office, delivering the findings of the investigation to the courts. Simultaneously, the Pakistani criminal justice system, like that of many other countries, lacks sentence hearings. Simply said, when a court finds someone guilty, the court assesses the penalty in the same way. Both of these scenarios are created separately in a range of jurisdictions, which need urgent development here.

Certain factors, such as a society’s political system, public opinion, politicians involved in this field, and the society’s technology and economy, can influence the development of criminal justice policies so that the criminal justice system can run smoothly and quickly to punish offenders and maintain peace in society, so we must encourage these areas through various means. There is also a need to promote community safety through alternatives to jail, to build fair and effective policing practices, to promote justice through pre-trial programmes and practices, to increase the integrity of prosecutions, and to ensure fair trials.

It is also critical for redesigning our Colonial Criminal Justice System to adopt new laws in all Criminal Justice sectors with a robust implementation time-restricted mechanism and to remove the criminal investigation and court backlog quickly. It is also critical that the state take efforts through current laws to assure the admissibility of evidence gathered by modern equipment, to protect vulnerable populations, and to dissuade absconders from justice. There is also a need to implement all possible legal and oversight mechanisms, such as those established in the Police Order, 2002, to ensure corruption-free departments in all areas of the criminal justice system, which can pave the way for fair policing, investigation, prosecution, forensic evidence, and trial.

Pakistan’s criminal justice system has been widely criticized, which is fair given that it has failed to satisfy citizens’ expectations while failing to develop institutions. Now is the time for lawmakers, politicians, governments, and courts to collaborate and execute their respective roles in more proactive ways for the wider benefit of the citizens and country for upholding the rule of law and changing the outdated criminal justice system with new legislation and best international practices.

The writer is a practicing lawyer at Supreme Court and has served as Chairman, Federal Excise & Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal and Senior Advisor Federal Ombudsman. He can be reached at: hafizahsaan47@gmail.com.