Islamabad:
Chief Justice Yahya Afridi said on Monday that the integration of technology into the justice system is crucial to ensuring greater accessibility, transparency and effectiveness in courts.
The supreme judge made these comments while addressing a symposium entitled “Using Technology in the Legal System in Pakistan: Views and Promises” in the federal capital.
The event convened by the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan brought together reputed members of the judiciary, international experts and senior government officials to explore the future of court reforms through digital transformation.
The Supreme Court Justice Shahid Waheed presented an overview of the progress and development of information technology within Pakistan’s legal system that highlighted the milestones achieved and the structural challenges left.
The symposium contained perspectives from international experts, Li Xiaohui, an expert from Supreme People’s Court of China who shared China’s digital journey into court reforms.
In his main address, Chief Justice emphasized that the integration of technology into the justice system is not only a matter of modernization, but it is important to make the courts more accessible, transparent and effective to the people they earn.
He described the symposium as timely and forward -looking and adapted to the reform agenda to be discussed by the national judicial (Political Development Committee (NJPMC) at its upcoming meeting.
Chief Justice recognized the important contributions from Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Shahid Waheed, Justice Ali Baqar Najafi, Judge Supreme Court of Pakistan/President and members of the National Judicial Automation Committee (NJAC) and Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan (LJCP) to lead this initiative.
He also expanded a warm welcome to international guests and expressed gratitude to Justice Zhang Jun, Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court of China, and justice Kadir Ozkaya, Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court of Türkiye, for their continued support and commitment to legal cooperation.
By reflecting on the reforms in progress, the supreme judge highlighted the most important digital innovations recently implemented by the Supreme Court, including e-archiving, QR codes on judgments, expanded video link hearings, the launch of a citizen feedback portal and the use of data analysis for case management. However, he also recognized ongoing challenges such as the digital gap, developing legal framework and cyber security vulnerability.
He emphasized that resistance to technological change must not hinder progress and emphasized the need for a comprehensive national framework for guiding the court’s digital transformation, including robust cyber security protocols, ethical guidelines for AI use and a culture of cooperation involving high courts, court academies, government institutions, academic and legal societies.
Chief Justice confirmed that technology is a powerful tool for building institutional trust, eliminating barriers to access and improving the quality of justice.
He urged all stakeholders to move on with unity and decide to shape a legal system that meets today’s needs and serves the trust of the future generations.
