A meeting between the President Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan (SCBAP), Mian Muhammad Rauf Atta, and the IMF mission was held today in Islamabad. On the occasion, Mir Atta Ullah Langove and Barrister Sarfraz Metlo, Presidents of the High Court Bar Associations of Baluchistan and Sindh, respectively, were also present.

The agenda of the meeting was to discuss issues such as judicial efficiency, contract enforcement, and property rights protection, etc. The meeting, which lasted for more than one hour, covered extensive discussions on a range of issues, particularly the issue of judicial efficiency, which appears to be one of the core concerns of the mission. The mission also shared its concerns regarding contract enforcement and property rights issues, directly affecting foreign investments.

In this context, the President SCBAP provided a detailed and factual response to the mission's queries. President SCBAP, while recognizing the importance of judicial efficiency, viewed that for a vibrant and independent judicial system, judicial efficiency is one of the basic prerequisites.  He apprised the mission that two important efforts are currently being made to enhance judicial efficiency, one on the judicial side and the other on the legislative side.

On the judicial side, he apprised the mission of the initiatives taken by the Chief Justice of Pakistan aimed at improving judicial efficiency, such as the introduction of an e-filing system replacing the orthodox filing system, revamping the case management system, expeditious disposal of pending cases, and the introduction of video link facilities in the Supreme Court.  All these initiatives are directed toward improving judicial efficiency and eliminating hurdles in the process.

Additionally, efforts are being made to introduce the same initiatives in the higher and subordinate judiciary, the President stated.On the legislative side, he apprised the mission that the recently introduced 26th Constitutional Amendment was made with the aim of improving judicial independence, enabling the judicial system to work more efficiently and effectively.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)