Islamabad:
The Supreme Court Justice Mansoor Ali Shah on Saturday emphasized the need to adopt alternative dispute resolution mechanism (ADR) to tackle the backlog of cases and lack of judges in the country.
When he spoke at a seminar in the federal capital, the senior Puisne sheds light on the state of the justice system and suggested ADR as a viable solution to the growing crisis.
Justice Shah revealed that despite deciding 1.7 million cases across the country in 2023, the backlog remains unchanged. We must pave the way for litigation and adopt alternative methods to solve their problems, he said.
He pointed out the urgent lack of judges, citing that there are only 13 judges available to every million people, creating an overwhelming burden for the judiciary.
He attributed delays in the event of decisions to systemic issues within the legal system and the legal community. Delay in case of solutions arises due to strikes and other questions, he said.
Justice Shah advocated for ADR mechanism, such as mediation and arbitration, as a culturally compatible and effective approach to the solution of disputes.
“Arbitration system is in line with our culture and can solve problems amicably without creating social conflicts. This system does not even require regulatory changes as we train individuals to convey effectively,” he noted.
He further emphasized the importance of moving away from traditional litigation and noted that delay in deciding critical cases stems from the overwhelming volume of routine cases.
We need to encourage arbitration and mediation as viable alternatives, he said, adding that litigation should have the opportunity to pursue ADR before he turns to the courts.
Justice Shah emphasized that the benefits of ADR mechanism, including reduced costs and accelerated decisions.
He said the mediation system can make faster decisions, sometimes in a single day while keeping fees affordable while observing that it will not lead to financial challenges for lawyers as they can also play a key role in the ADR process.
Justice Shah noted that ADR is no longer an option, but a necessity to deliver justice effectively.
