Reforms will free up court time, says CJP
The Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar has highlighted three areas where legislative reform could lighten the caseload, making the courts speedier and more accessible.
The made these suggestions on Thursday while heading a three-judge bench hearing a constitutional plea seeking judicial reforms in the country.
During the hearing, the chief justice told about his meeting with Law Minister Dr Farogh Nasim on judicial reforms.
He revealed that the government is planning to end the option of second appeal in the code of civil procedure (CCP) cases.
Explaining his first proposal, the chief justice questioned why it is mandatory that the civil court issue succession certificates and why the National Database Registration Authority (NADRA) is not being authorised to do the same.
At present, any person claiming inheritance in Pakistan has to file a “Suit for Declaration” under section 42 of the Specific Relief Act 1877 for claiming inherited land, and a “Suit for Succession” under the Succession Act 1925 for claiming inherited assets other than land such as bank accounts, gold and prize bonds.
Suits of this nature are filed in their thousands every year, and unnecessarily take up the civil courts’ time.
The legal experts believe that the job of determining heirs and distributing inheritance amongst them in accordance with law is, in essence, an executive function with which the judiciary has been unnecessarily burdened.
It should, through appropriate legislation, be delegated to government bodies.
Only disputed inheritance cases should be brought for resolution to the judiciary.
The second proposal floated by the Chief Justice Nisar is related to improving the mechanisms for registration of contracts on the sale and lease of land.
The provincial registration authorities register such contracts under the Registration Act 1908.
However, the registration is done in a most obscure and haphazard manner, and the record is not digitalised.
The civil courts spend a lot of time and effort simply obtaining evidence for determining the veracity of contracts.
If a computerised database for registration of land-related contracts similar to NADRA’s computerised national identity card (CNIC) database is set up and made accessible to civil courts, a lot of court time and effort could be saved.
This would free up courts’ time and allow them to focus on dispensing speedy justice.
The chief justice’s third proposal is related to the law of preemption, a law which enables neighbours to dispute contracts for sale of rural land on flimsy basis.
This law not only spawns a steady stream of meritless litigation, but creates doubts in existing property rights.
If this law could be repealed or amended, a lot of courts’ time could be freed up for more deserving cases.
During the hearing, the Chief Justice Nisar lamented that litigants are worried due to delay in justice.
At the end of the hearing, the bench directed the law minister to arrange a meeting with the petitioners and amicus curiae (“friend of the court”, an independent adviser) for developing a shared vision for civil justice reform within two weeks.
The chief justice indicated that he himself would preside over the meeting, if necessary.
On the last date of hearing, the bench had appointed Salahuddin Ahmad and Zafar Kalanauri as amicus curiae in the case.
Ahmad, who is a former vice-chairman of the Sindh Bar Council, said that he has filed his brief which endorses the six key reforms highlighted by the petitioners.
He has added a few suggestions of his own, and suggested that the reform process should be steered by a sitting Supreme Court judge who might be made ex-officio member of the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan (LJCP) for the purpose.