RAWALPINDI: New model courts and an SMS service were inaugurated at the Judicial Complex Rawalpindi on Thursday.

The inauguration was conducted by Lahore High Court (LHC) Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, who also delivered a lecture during the first session for the training of young lawyers by the District Judicial Commission.

Justice Shah said the establishment of model courts in the province has produced remarkable results with regards to the swift disposal of judicial cases. He said a new and more efficient justice system will evolve in the province which will help dispose of under-trial cases within the stipulated period.

“As many as 1,780 cases have been disposed of in the session trials in just two months which is unprecedented in the history of the judiciary and which has provided relief to applicants,” he said.

A press release quoted him as saying that Punjab will be made a model province in regards to the judicial system by introducing the latest and digitalised criminal and civil judicial system. Some 600,000 civil trials will be completed in the model courts established in six districts of the province and an alternate dispute resolution system has also been introduced for judicial mediation, he is reported as saying.

Three mediation centres have been established LHC where 148 cases have been submitted of which 86 cases were resolved in a day after mutual arbitration.

He added that some 15-year-old cases were also resolved in just a day via judicial mediation and that similar mediation centres will be established in 36 districts of the province.

Justice Shah added that the best information technology system in the sub-continent has been introduced in the judicial system to reduce the time judicial cases remain pending and that all civil judges at the tehsil level will be provided with vehicles in order to facilitate them. This project will be started with women judges.

The conditions of court rooms will also be improved and all tehsil bar associations will be equipped with a computer, printer, furniture and Internet connections which will help staff access e-libraries across the world.

A data base of all cases will be established and will be made available on the Internet, he said, adding that the new SMS service will help regulate trials and will facilitate applicants.

Justice Shah said there is a shortage of 700 judges in the judiciary and that new judges will be inducted by the end of December the examinations for which will be conducted Oct 2017.

LHC Judge Justice Anwarul Haq said the new model courts were a game changer for the judiciary and appreciated the interest and support from Rawalpindi lawyers in the provision of speedy justice.

Rawalpindi District and Session Judge Sohail Nasir appreciated Justice Shah’s contributions towards upgrading the judicial system.

“As many as 22 model courts were initiated in the province on Feb 1 and they have decided 629 cases since including 140 murder cases and 328 narcotics cases,” he said.

These courts have recorded the statement of 2,287 witnesses and due to the excellent performance of model courts, the districts of Mandi Bahauddin and Lodhran have also been included in the programme, he added.

It is a matter of honour that the Rawalpindi District has been included in the model courts programme, he said.

An underground parking project will be proposed for the Rawalpindi judicial complex which will have the capacity for 250 vehicles and new courts will be constructed above this parking, he said, adding that an escalator on the overhead bridge between the judicial complex and the kutchery will be made functional the coming week.

Published in Dawn, May 5th, 2017