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ANNUAL REPORT 2004
LAW & JUSTICE COMMISSION OF PAKISTAN AND
NATIONAL JUDICIAL (POLICY MAKING) COMMITTEE
LAW & JUSTICE COMMISSION SECRETARIAT
SUPREME COURT BUILDING
CONSTITUTION AVENUE
ISLAMABAD
The Annual Report 2004 is available on the Commission’s website. For further information, please contact the Commission’s Secretariat at the following address:Law & Justice Commission of Pakistan
Supreme Court Building
Constitution Avenue
Islamabad, Pakistan
Tel: 092-51-9220483
Fax: 092-51-9214416
email:
www.ljcp.gov.pk
Table of Contents
Foreword 1
Secretary’s Report 3
1. Law and Justice Commission & National Judicial (Policy
Making) Committee 7
1.1 The Statutes 7
1.2 Functions 7
1.3 Composition 8
1.4 Library & Computerisation 9
1.5 Bio-data of Members 10
1.6 Commission’s Secretariat 18
2. Performance of the Commission and NJPMC in 2004 18
2.1 Law and Justice Commission 19
2.2 National Judicial (Policy Making) Committee 24
2.3 Governing Body of Access to Justice Development Fund 26
2.4 Reports Approved in 2004 26
2.5 Law Reforms Proposals 28
2.6 Implementation of Recommendations 28
2.7 Automation Plan - Moving Ahead With Implementation 32
2.8 Public Awareness Scheme 33
2.9 Commission/NJPMC Publishes Annual Reports of the
Courts 33
3. Access to Justice Development Fund 36
4. Commission’s Website 37
5. Procedure of Selection of Projects 38
6. Commission’s Finances 39
7. Other Activities 40
8. Legal Discovery Centre 41
9. Relations with other Law Commissions 42
10. Annexures
10.1 List of Reports. (Annex I) 43
10.2 Public Awareness Scheme (Annex II) 47
10.3 Pending Projects (Annex III) 65
10.4 Address of Other Law Commissions (Annex IV) 75
Foreword
I am delighted that the Secretary, Law & Justice Commission of Pakistan is publishing the Annual Report 2004 of the Law & Justice Commission of Pakistan (LJCP) and the National Judicial (Policy Making) Committee (NJPMC). The report affords a detailed and sound insight into the work the Commission and Committee have done during 2004.
Let me say that the role of LJCP is of vital importance. It is mandated to perform critical functions to facilitate the reform process of modernizing the legal system and formulating effective and workable policies to strengthen the system of administration of justice in the country. This is a profound responsibility involving arduous work and sustained efforts. It is in this context that the past year has seen many an important millstones the Commission has accomplished in relation to its functions. Considerable amount of effort went into performing functions related to newly created National Judicial (Policy Making) Committee (NJPMC) and establishing its institutional linkages with the Commission. It would therefore be pertinent to share with you the progress made in different areas particularly with reference to the new functions entrusted to LJCP and the responsibilities of NJPMC.
The NJPMC also has a key role in identifying constraints and recommending strategies for improvement of judicial administration and policy making in the country. This new responsibility necessitates the formulation and adoption of a revamped approach to research, which combines the academic with the practical and also the development of suitable in-house capacity in this field. The work in this area is also in progress and the Government have agreed to provide the necessary additional staff and resources.
The Law and Justice Commission has taken important decisions with regard to the management of Rs. 1479 million Access to Justice Development Fund (AJDF) endowment. The LJCP in its meeting held on 11 December 2004 approved the AJDF Accounting Procedure. This decision along with approval of Workplan to disburse Rupees fifty eight million has led to initial steps needed to operationalize the AJDF. The AJDF provides resources to address some of the chronic problems of the judicial and legal sector, such as legal empowerment, legal education, resources for the subordinate courts, training and capacity building. The Fund is managed by Governing Body, AJDF. The Fund has already been invested in Government approved schemes. Keeping in view the innovative mechanisms required to manage and administer the fund, specialized in-house expertise is being developed to manage the Fund. Necessary rules/regulations for its disbursement have been prepared and notified and the disbursement process is in hand.
An important function entrusted to the LJCP is the dissemination of legal literacy to promote rule of law, awareness of rights and responsibilities amongst the citizens. Such efforts particularly focus on instilling legal awareness amongst the vulnerable groups such as women, children, labor and others through development of simplified version of laws. At the moment, the LJCP Secretariat has little resources to perform this function. However despite such constraints, the Secretariat prepared some 60 reports under the Public Awareness Scheme and got them published through print/electronic media. These have also been published in Volume 2 of the Commission’s publication titled ‘Qanun Fehmi’.
Realizing the meager incentive available to motivate judges of subordinate courts, the NJPMC approved judicial allowance. I sincerely hope that payment of judicial allowance to the Judges of the subordinate courts will help improve their performance and working to ensure speedy justice. It is a matter of satisfaction thatthe judicial allowance is being paid in all provinces. The NJPMC further recommended the payment of utility allowance to the Judges and staffof the subordinate judiciary. So far this allowance has been sanctioned in the Province of Balochistan. I believe that the rest of the provinces will follow suit.
The Secretariat of Law and Justice Commission has for the second time published the National Judicial Statistics of Pakistan and the annual reports of the Supreme Court, Federal Shariat Court, High Courts, Subordinate Courts and Special Courts/Administrative Tribunals under the Access to Justice Programme. This is again a statutory function and is currently being regularized and institutionalized. This is a step towards transparency and accountability in the system of administration of justice in the country.
The LJCP and NJPMC together with their sub-committees have been regularly meeting during the last year to scrutinize and approve several reports. The recommendations thus formulated were duly forwarded to the Government for implementation. I remain assured with the response of the Parliament and Provincial legislatures to give due consideration to these recommendations for their effective and quick implementation.
I wish to acknowledge the dedicated efforts and hard work of LJCP Secretariat in carrying out the functional responsibilities of the LJCP/NJPMC and its subsidiary Committees. I hope that the same level of dedication and hard work will be demonstrated in the present year in accomplishing the tasks assigned to the two bodies.
Justice Nazim Hussain Siddiqui
Chairman
Islamabad 25 June, 2005
Secretary’s Report
The Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan (LJCP) is a Federal Government institution working to modernize and strengthen the legal system and system of administration of justice in the country. The Commission makes recommendations to the Federal/Provincial Government on legal/judicial reform. The Commission coordinates its functions with the National Judicial (Policy Making) Committee (NJPMC) responsible for formulation and implementation of judicial policy.
I am pleased to share with you the LJCP/NJPMC Annual Report 2004. This report provides a brief but succinct overview of the duties of the LJCP/NJPMC and the corresponding responsibilities of its Secretariat. It also touches upon the organizational features of the Secretariat and main highlights of its performance in 2004.
Commission’s Responsibilities
The Commission is mandated to perform functions such as reform/modernization of laws (federal and provincial), reform in the administration of justice, improving the standard of legal education, and dissemination of legal literacy through simple explanations of laws.The expanded role of the Commission now also includes preparing and executing schemes for human resource development for efficient court administration and case management, coordination of judiciary and executive, preparing and implementing plans for access to justice, provision of legal aid and protection of human rights.
Recognizing the pivotal role of LJCP in the legal/judicial system of Pakistan, the Government has entrusted LJCP the responsibility to administer the Access to Justice Development Fund (AJDF) which is meant for improving the capacity and performance of the subordinate courts, improving the standard of legal research and education, judicial training and provision of legal aid to needy and deserving persons. AJDF is a statutory endowment amounting to total Rs. 1479 million out of which 1421 has been invested in government approved securities while Rs. 58 million is being disbursed towards specified fund objectives. In December 2004, the LJCP approved AJDF Accounting Procedure and Workplan to operationalise the fund.
The Secretariat of the Commission has been given the statutory responsibility to act as the Secretariat to the National Judicial (Policy Making) Committee, which was set up in 2002 as the apex national forum for formulation and implementation of judicial policy. The NJPMC is headed by the Chief Justice of Pakistan and comprises the Chief Justice, Federal Shariat Court and four Chief Justices of High Courts. The Secretary, Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan is designated as Secretary to the Committee. It has also since become functional and meets regularly.
NJPMC is mandated to formulate and implement judicial policy and prepare schemes for improving the capacity and performance of the administration of justice. For this purpose, the Commission’s Secretariat has provided regular support to the Committee in 2004. A number of papers and briefs were prepared for the consideration of the NJPMC and the decisions made by the Committee have been recorded in the relevant part of this report.
Commission’s Performance
The Commission by the end of 2004, approved and published 67 reports on different issues/subjects and submitted the same to the Government for implementation. A detailed list of such reports is given at Annex 1. In 2004, the Commission approved 5 law reform reports.
The Secretariat also operates a Legal Awareness Scheme for public information and education. Under this scheme, write-ups are prepared in Urdu on legal issues/problems of public concern/interest and published through the news media. A list of such published material is at Annex II. The Secretariat of the Commission also published Volume II of a Report in Urdu titled “Qanun-e-Fehmi” containing write-ups on legal and judicial issues for public education and awareness. Citizens are encouraged to obtain further clarification and/or advice on legal issues from the Secretariat by writing or personal contact or on phone. Several other projects of legal/judicial reform are currently under consideration of the Commission. They are at various stages of completion. A list of all pending projects is at Annex III
To ensure transparency and accountability in the judicial system, the LJCP Secretariat published annual reports of the courts of Pakistan. This is a major step forward towards promoting a predictable, efficient and effective justice delivery in the country.
With a view to ensuring quick and inexpensive dispensation of justice at the grassroots level, the LJCP recommended the establishment of Small Claims and Minor Offences Courts for trial of certain categories of cases through a shortened procedure. Accordingly, the Government of Pakistan promulgated the Small Claims and Minor Offences Courts Ordinance in the year 2002. The Small Claims & Minor Offences Courts will expeditiously decide small claims of the value of one lac rupees and minor criminal offences where the punishment prescribed is not more than three years. These courts will also resort to alternative means of dispute resolution such as mediation, conciliation and arbitration. The courts will also expeditiously decide matters by undertaking day to day hearing of the cases. LJCP is working to make sure that necessary court rooms, staff and equipment are provided for the effective functioning of such courts. Although the Government of Pakistan passed the Small Claims and Minor Offences Courts Ordinance in the year 2002 but establishment of these courts met difficulties due to shortage of recourses, systems and human resources necessary to operationalise such courts. The LJCP, however, has been quite active in pursuing the matter in this regard. Provincial Governments were approached in the outgoing year for establishment of the said courts in consultation with the Chief Justices of the respective High Courts. It gives me great satisfaction that LJCP effort bore fruit as Provincesof Punjab, NWFP and Sindh have created the Small Claims & Minor Offences Courts and the Province of Balochistan is in the process to create these courts. With the established of these courts, it is hoped that the dispensation of justice at the district level will further improve.
A great deal more needs to be done to implement the new vision about the role of the Commission and its Secretariat. This however, requires sustained effort and commitment of substantial additional resources by the Government. The last year has been devoted in articulating the Commission’s case before the Government and in performing the most critical of new functions with support of the limited resources available to the Secretariat. I hope that this year, the Commission will acquire the necessary support and make headway in performing its new role.
Secretariat’s Strength & Resources
The Commission’s Secretariat is headed by a Secretary and comprises posts for research and ministerial staff. The sanctioned posts include 3 Joint Secretaries,
4 Deputy Secretaries, 5 Research Officers, 2 Section Officers, MIS Manager, System Analyst, 2 Computer Programmers and Computer Operator. The working strength is 1 Joint Secretary, 2 Deputy Secretaries and 2 Research Officers. In keeping with the expanded role of the Commission, additional staff has been sanctioned by the Government. The process of recruitment is in hand.
The Commission has its own library, which is further assisted by a Legal Discovery Center established with the support of the embassy of USA to enhance research facilities for scholars and officials of the justice sector. A computer network is functioning effectively in the Secretariat to ensure discharge of professional work in a speedy manner. The Commission is running its website www.ljcp.gov.pk.
The Commission welcomes interaction with research institutions, professional bodies, jurists, scholars, researchers and citizens on the issues of legal and judicial reform. Views, comments and suggestions for reform of law, improvement in administration of justice, standard of legal education and protection of human rights can be forwarded to the Secretariat.