Daily Times

A strong state is like a building, whose strength depends on three pillars: the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary. If any one of these pillars weakens, the state itself becomes fragile.

Just as a building requires renovation over time, the institutions of the state also need reforms. Unfortunately, our judicial system has become so outdated that delivering justice takes years. Litigants lose their properties, but their cases continue to drag on for many years in the courts. More than 50% of our problems stem from our inability to deliver timely justice. According to the 2024 Law and Justice Commission report, the number of pending cases has exceeded 2.26 million. On average, it takes not months but years for a case to be resolved, sometimes more than 10 years. The report states that during the last six months of 2023, pending cases increased by 3.9%. Of these, 82% of the cases are pending in district courts, while 18% are in the higher judiciary. Globally, our judiciary ranks 130th.

Unfortunately, in recent years, our judiciary has become a political arena. To make the judicial system more efficient and faster, reforms must be made. Regrettably, some lawyers are putting up obstacles to these constitutional amendments to ensure that the judicial system remains outdated and serves their interests. The recent convention organized by lawyers to block these constitutional reforms is essentially a deviation from judicial reforms. There is no doubt that if courts start delivering timely justice, the country will see an end to lawlessness and terrorism.

When will these lawyers organize a movement to ensure our judicial system is respected worldwide?

But to conceal the inefficiency of the judiciary, lawyers are organizing conventions to ensure that litigants do not receive timely justice.

The amount of noise certain lawyers are making in criticizing institutions for the sake of a specific political party. If only they would organize such conventions to improve the performance of their institution.

This raises the question: when the public finally has hope of receiving swift and timely justice, why do lawyers suddenly feel the need to hold conventions?

Apart from the decline in global rankings, over 2 million cases are pending in all courts across the country, including the Supreme Court.

The question is, given all these circumstances, will these lawyers ever stand up for the common people?

Have any groups of lawyers ever felt the pain of the public and demanded that courts expedite delayed cases?

Have lawyers ever made efforts to provide affordable justice to the public?

Has this group of lawyers ever launched a campaign to fight cases for the poor without charging exorbitant fees?

Will this group of lawyers ever lead a campaign to hold politicians and bureaucrats accountable for the harm caused to the public?

Will these lawyers ever lead a movement to improve the efficiency of government departments?

Many more questions can be asked of the lawyers. When will they organize a convention or movement to ensure that our judicial system is respected worldwide?

The writer is an old Aitchisonian who believes in freedom of expression, a freelance columnist, entrepreneur and social activist.