criminal justice system in pakistan essay

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The Criminal Justice System Of Pakistan

"in a country like pakistan, knowledge is seldom celebrated. it is more so in different fields of study that affect the lives of public at large. the extant material focuses on reform or improvements without stating clearly what the system is and how it operates. the knowledge gap qua justice sector is acute. a point of departure can be a brief elucidation of the criminal justice system, which this overview will try to provide in topical manner." - kamran adil.

In a country like Pakistan, knowledge is seldom celebrated. It is more so in different fields of study that affect the lives of public at large. The extant material focuses on reform or improvements without stating clearly what the system is and how it operates. The knowledge gap qua justice sector is acute. A point of departure can be a brief elucidation of the criminal justice system, which this overview will try to provide in topical manner.

Constitution of Pakistan and Judicature

The constitution of a country constitutes its basic organs i.e. the legislature, executive and judicature. The 1973 Constitution of Pakistan, like its predecessor constitutional instruments, provides for the three organs. As Pakistan is a Federation, its constitution provides for executive, legislature and judicature [1] at both federal and provincial levels. It must be noted that the concept of judicature is often confused with the term judiciary; while judicature means the administration of justice, the judiciary is the system of courts in a country [2] .

Judicature and the Criminal Justice System

The Constitution of Pakistan provides for the separation of judiciary from the executive, [3] and this constitutional dictate has yet to witness fruition. The traditionally strong executive has remained central to power and has kept the legislature and the judicature peripheral by controlling the purse. Since 2007, the judiciary has gained some space by using its suo motu powers [4] to enforce Fundamental Rights coupled with its power to punish contempt or non-observance of its orders [5] ; the legislature has not been able to assert its power through its conventions, privileges and rules, and due to its partisan nature. The Constitution establishes constitutional courts including the Supreme Court, High Courts, Federal Shariat Court, and provides for jurisdictions of different courts relating to constitutional, civil, criminal and service matters. The cumulative reading of the competence of federal and provincial legislatures, the jurisdictions of constitutional courts, and the fundamental rights [6] provides for the constitutional basis of the criminal justice system in Pakistan.

Role of Federal and Provincial Governments and Criminal Justice System

Under the Constitution, law and order is the responsibility of the provinces that discharge it through their provincial governments. In the provinces, the criminal justice system is managed through the Home and Prosecution Departments. The responsibility of the federation is concurrent to the provinces [7] and extends to federally administered territories of the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), the Gilgit Baltistan (GB), and the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). The federal government is also responsible for dealing with inter-provincial coordination in criminal matters that it carries out through the Ministry of Interior (MoI). In addition, the federal government has power over the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), which functions as a federal police that investigates and prosecutes organized crimes of illegal immigration, human trafficking, cybercrime etc. The federal and provincial governments use their respective rules of business to exercise superintendence of the criminal justice system; this use of delegated legislation to counterweight the primary legislation is an important mechanism that must be researched thoroughly to bring about any reform in the system of governance of the criminal justice system.

Criminal Justice System

Ontologically, the study of crimes is styled as Criminology and the study of the agencies that control or respond to crime is called Criminal Justice (CJ) [8] . The US has a rich tradition in the production of Criminal Justice knowledge, and offers distinct degree programmes. Based on the US pedagogical practice, the criminal justice system of Pakistan may be divided into five components: (i) Police, (ii) Prosecution, (iii) Courts; (iv) Prisons, and (v) Corrections. Each component has its own functions, organization, budget, working and legal framework. In practice, a typical provincial criminal justice system is managed by the Home Department under which the police and prisons work as its attached departments. A brief introduction to each component has been discussed below.

According to the Oxford Handbook on Criminology, the police is an organization, whereas policing is the function of preventing and detecting crime. In Pakistan, insofar as the organizational aspect is concerned, each province has its own police organization, like the Punjab Police, Sindh Police, KP Police and Baluchistan Police. The total number of police personnel in Pakistan is about half a million. Each province has its own organizational law. The Police Order, 2002 is the organizational law of the Punjab Police; the KP Police Act, 2017 is the organizational law of the KP Police; the Sindh Police works under the Sindh (Repeal of the Police Act, 1861 and the Revival of the Police Order, 2002) (Amendment) Act, 2019, and the Baluchistan Police employs the Baluchistan Police Act, 2011. The powers of policing are provided by the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898, and all police organizations derive their police powers from it. The legal framework of policing primarily supports the detection model of policing by providing the legal basis of investigation and subsequent processes; it provides very limited powers of preventing crime to the police organizations.

Prosecution:

The function of the prosecution is to evaluate the evidence collected by the police, and to filter the quality and quantity of cases to be sent up for trial. Historically, it was part of police organizations. Following the example of the UK where the UK Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) was founded in 1986, the prosecution was separated for the first time from police organizations in 1986, but the arrangement was reversed in 1991. Thereafter, since 2003, separate prosecution departments/attached departments have been established in all the provinces of Pakistan. The organization and functions of prosecution departments are governed by separate provincial laws. Punjab Prosecution Department was established in 2006 under the Punjab Criminal Prosecution Service (Constitution, Functions and Powers) Act, 2006; the Sindh Prosecution Service works as an attached department of the Sindh Law Department and its working law is the Sindh Criminal Prosecution Service (Constitution, Functions and Powers) Act, 2010. Likewise, with some variations, the KP Prosecution Service (Constitution, Functions and Powers) Act, 2005 and the Baluchistan Prosecution Service (Constitution, Functions and Powers) Act, 2003 establish prosecution organizations in KP and Baluchistan.

The courts that deal with criminal matters are magistrate and sessions courts. Contrary to the constitutional courts that are established under the constitution and have a binding effect on the executive, the magistrate and sessions courts are products of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898, and essentially decide facts. The magistrates have charge of different police stations and their working is as important as of police stations. Owing to their significance, the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Mr. Asif Saeed Khosa, termed the police and courts ‘conjoined twins’. The courts adjudicate upon criminal matters by conducting trials in accordance with the law. The courts of magistrates and additional sessions are present at the level of tehsil/taluka in every district of the country. All the accused individuals have to be produced before them within twenty-four hours in accordance with the Constitution (Article 10). The courts follow an adversarial system of adjudication. Criminal cases are required to be proved beyond reasonable doubt, and the accused is treated as innocent unless proven guilty.

Prisons and Corrections:

Prisons work as an attached department to the Home Departments of the provinces. Maintaining an incarceration-based prison system is a very expensive project for any economy. All over the world, the trend is to minimize the burden on prisons. In Pakistan, conceptually, every district should have a district prison and for every division, there should be a central prison; however, in practice, the district and central jails have not been provided to all districts and divisions of the country. The legal framework of prisons is very old in the entire country; prisons in all the provinces are constituted and function under the Prisons Act, 1894, except Sindh, where the Sindh Prisons and Corrections Services Act, 2019 has been enacted recently. The prison departments in Pakistan also contain corrections facilities that are aimed at providing skills to the prisoners so that they can rehabilitate themselves in society upon their return. Unfortunately, due to a lack of investment in corrections, the results of the corrections system are limited and their facilities are virtually merged into prisons establishments. The regime of parole and probation that work as alternatives to imprisonment were introduced in 1927 through the Directorates of Parole and Probation under Home Department. After independence, such directorates were introduced in all provinces within the Home Departments. For the sake of knowledge and in the context of Pakistan, the definitions of three key terms related to rehabilitation and reintegration must be noted:

• Corrections: “…services and programs aimed at correcting the criminal conduct of the Prisoners in order to rehabilitate and integrate them in the society” [9] ;
• Probation : The term probation is based on two laws titled as the Good Conduct Probationer’s Release Act, 1926 and the Probation of Offenders Ordinance, 1960. The concept of probation is that first time offenders may be released by the court on surety. Probation may be applied as an alternate to imprisonment.
• Parole : The term parole is not defined in the law. The Good Conduct Probationer’s Release Rules, 1927 refer to Parole Officers who supervise the prisoners on ‘parole’. The concept is that the provincial governments may suspend the sentence of a prisoner and release him under a licence owing to his good behavior.

[1] Part VII of the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973.

[2] Francis Bacon’s Essay on Judicature is interesting and the difference can be inferred by looking at different law dictionaries. A good detail is available in Britannica Encyclopedia online at https://www.britannica.com/topic/administrative-law/Judicial-review-of-administration#ref417468

[3] Article 175 of the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973.

[4] Article 184(3) of the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973.

[5] Article 204 of the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973.

[6] Especially, Articles 8, 9, 10, 10-A, 11, 12 and 13 of the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973.

[7] Articles 142 and 143 of the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973.

[8] Siegel, Larry J, Criminology-Theories, Patterns and Typologies, 9 th Edition, page 4.

[9] Section 4(l) of the Sindh Prisons and Corrections Services Act, 2019.

By Kamran Adil

Author:  Kamran Adil

Mr. Kamran Adil is a Visiting Research Fellow at the Research Society of International Law. He is currently serving as Deputy Inspector General (Operations) Punjab Police.

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Handbook of Asian Criminology pp 247–281 Cite as

Criminology and Criminal Justice System in Pakistan

• Fasihuddin 4  
• First Online: 01 January 2012

2897 Accesses

1 Citations

Criminology as an academic discipline and as a profession doesn’t enjoy its deserved status in Pakistan. There is a general apathy on part of the academics and practitioners to promote the scientific study of criminology. Moreover, the criminal justice system in Pakistan is a colonial remnant and is unable to meet the challenges of the rising crime rate and the associated complexities involved in the dispensation of justice. This is a descriptive research study. It describes the status of criminology in Pakistan by putting it into the context of socio-economic situation. This paper consists of two parts: Part-I describes crime situation in Pakistan, academic status of criminology, criminological literature and the professional criminological organizations in Pakistan. Part-II specifically deals with the criminal justice system of Pakistan including brief statistics, and reforms on each of the components of criminal justice system.

The author is highly grateful and indebted to the Assistant Editor of Pakistan Journal of Criminology, Mr. Imran Ahmad Sajid, a Ph.D. Research Scholar for collecting data from offices of the criminal justice units and locating some valuable references of criminology in Pakistan.

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The report can be downloaded from the URL http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2011/ .

Under Pakistan Penal Code 1898, Section 391, Dacoity is defined as “When five or more persons conjointly commit or attempt to commit a robbery, or where the whole number of persons conjointly committing or attempting to commit a robbery and persons present and aiding such commission or attempt, amount to five or more, every person so committing, attempting or aiding is said to commit “dacoity”.

For reference please Visit http://www.uok.edu.pk/faculties/index.php .

e.g. Criminal Justice, Crime Punishment and Treatment in Pakistan by Ch. Abdul Majeed A. Auolakh; Fundamentals of Criminal Investigation: A Handbook for Law Enforcement Officers by Rana Abdurrazaq Khan; Crime and Criminology: A Comparative Study in Islamic Republic of Pakistan by Rana Abdul Razzaq Khan & Ch. Abdul Majeed A. Aoulakh; Law and Method of Medical Examination and Evidence with Medical Jurisprudence and Criminology by Masuad ul Hassan Khan; Principles of Criminology and Pakistan Penal Code (Questions and Answers) by Jamal Abbasi; Socio Psychological Aspects of Crime in Pakistan by Perveaiz Naeem Tariq & Naeem Durrani; Criminology: Problems & Perspectives by Ahmed Siddique , Criminology by Justice ® Munir A. Mughal; Criminalities : Forensic Investigation for Law Enforcement Officers by Aftab Ahmed Kahn; Terrorism in Action by Iqbal Hussain; Criminal Justice & The Community and Guidelines for the New Entrants into Police Department by M.Y. Orakzai and a few Urdu books on the subject.

For the book Expanding Criminology to Pakistan, visit this link http://www.pakistansocietyofcriminology.com/Admin/uploads/ExpandingCriminology.pdf .

www.pakistansocietyofcriminology.com .

 Access online at http://nucss.edu.pk/index.php .

 Website of IPA http://www.ipa-pk.com/ .

For example, in the most popular daily Aaj , Peshawar, many veteran coloumnists have written specific and special coloumns on criminology and the role of Pakistan Society of Criminology and its President (Dr. Zahoor Ahmad Awan, Daily Aaj , June 15, 2008., Prof. Dr. Inayatullah Faizi, Daily Aaj , Aug 15, 2008., and three consecutive coloumns written by Jamil Marghuz, Daily Aaj , September 19, 22, & 24, 2011. Another local daily Jihad published a one page English supplement report on 29th June 2010. The launching ceremonies of Pakistan Journal of Criminology have been given considerable coverage by most of the national dailies. The Radio Pakistan FM. 101 channel from Peshawar and Khyber News TV Channel had special interviews with Fasihuddin, Editor-in-Chief of Pakistan Journal of Criminology on June 16, 2011 and on September 20, 2011, respectively which were widely received and propagated. The Khyber News TV interview is available on PSC website; www.pakistansocietyofcriminology.com .

 A major part of this portion was taken from the author’s previous essays on police in Pakistan.

 For details see Fasihuddin ( 2010 ). Police and Policing in Pakistan: Pakistan . In Ajit Doval and BR Lall (2010). Police and Security Yearbook 2010-2011 . New Delhi; Manas Publications.

For details see Fasihuddin ( 2009 ). Police Education and Training in Pakistan. Pakistan Journal of Criminology . Vol. 1. No. 2. Jul 2009.

 Official data provided by SP/Research Investigation, Central Police Office, Peshawar, KPK, Pakistan.

 For example, in the province of KPK, out of 14,921 investigated cases in 2012, 1578 were marked as untraced (source official data provided by the SP/Research, Central Police Office, Peshawar, KPK).

 A major part of this portion is taken with permission from the essay of Mashood Ahmad Mirza, Role and Responsibilities of Public Prosecutors in Pakistan, published in Pakistan Journal of Criminology. Vol. 2. No.3. July 2010.

“Public Prosecutor”, means any person appointed under section 492, and includes any person acting under the directions of a Public Prosecutor and any person conducting a prosecution on behalf of the State in any High Court in the exercise of its original criminal jurisdiction. He is bound to assist the Court with his fairly considered view and the Court is entitled to have the benefit of the fair exercise of his function. AIR 1957S.C. 389.

 An Asian Development Bank soft loan to Pakistan is de facto primarily responsible for the Access to Justice Program, in which the state is engaged “in improving justice delivery, strengthening public oversight over the police, and establishing specialized and independent prosecution services”. In this we see the Police Act 1861 being replaced by the Police Order 2002 and new laws to constitute and provide for the functions of independent prosecution services in Pakistan, thus divorcing prosecution from the investigative arm of the police. Arguably, more valid grounds can be cited for the creation of an independent prosecution service in Pakistan, being article 175(3) of the constitution, which mandates that “the judiciary shall be separated progressively from the executive within three years from the commencing day”. Thereafter, there was the appeal decided in Govt. of Sindh v. Sharaf Faridi (PLD 1994 SC 105).

 In Sindh, for instance, it was done in 1986; see Zahid and Wasim 2010 , The province of Sindh as a case study on the prosecution service : http://www.article2.org/mainfile.php/0704/333/ as on 12 July, 2010.

 The laws providing for independent prosecution services are The Sindh Criminal Prosecution Service (Constitution, Functions and Powers) Act, 2009, The Punjab Criminal Prosecution Service (Constitution, Functions and Powers) Act, 2006, The North-West Frontier Province Prosecution Service (Constitution, Functions and Powers) Act, 2005 , The Balochistan Prosecution Service (Constitution, Functions And Powers) Act, 2003.

 See generally Chapter III of the North-West Frontier Province Prosecution Service (Constitution, Functions and Powers) Act, 2005 .

 “Public Prosecutor” means a person appointed as Public Prosecutor under this Act for the purpose of section 492 of Cr.PC and includes District Public Prosecutor, Additional Public Prosecutor, Deputy Public Prosecutor and Assistant Public Prosecutor as well as Special Public Prosecutor.

 A District Public Prosecutor in case of offences carrying seven years or less imprisonment and the Director General Prosecution for all other offences may withdraw prosecution subject to prior approval of Court. Provided that prosecution of an offence falling under the Anti Terrorism Act, 1997 (XXVII of 1997), shall not be withdrawn without prior permission in writing of the Secretary to Government, Home and Tribal Affairs Department. See also Section 494 of CrPC, “Effect of withdrawal from prosecution. Any Public Prosecutor may, with the....] consent of the Court, before the judgment is pronounced, withdraw from the prosecution of any person either generally or in respect of any one or more of the offences for which he is tried, and upon such withdrawal: (a) if it is made before a charge has been framed, the accused shall be discharged in respect of such offence or offences; (b) if it is made after a charge has been framed, or when under this Code no charge is required, he shall be acquitted in respect of such offence or offences”.

 “Preamble of the North-West Frontier Province Prose­cution Service (Constitution, Functions and Powers) Act, 2005 states that “WHEREAS it is expedient to reorganize and establish a Prosecution Institution with a view to achieving a speedy justice process in the North-West Frontier Province and for matters ancillary or incidental thereto”.

 Amin, A. (April 19, 2011 ). Only 2% of terrorists are getting sentenced: In Daily The News International . Islamabad: Retrieved May 15, 2011 from http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=42426&Cat=7&dt=4/19/2011 .

 A major part of this portion is taken with permission from the essay of Barakatullah, Advocate, Judicial System in Pakistan, published in Pakistan Journal of Criminology. Vol. 2.No. 3. July 2010.

u/s 9 of the code of criminal procedure 1898.

Amendment through ordinance no OXXXI of 2002 by inserting Sub section (6) in 22.A of the code of criminal procedure 1898.

 For the online version of the revised edition of the National Judicial Policy 2009, please visit the following link; http://www.ljcp.gov.pk/Menu%20Items/National%20Judicial%20Policy/Judicial%20Policy%20June%202011.pdf .

A major part of this portion is taken with permission from the essay of Muhammad Masood Khan, Prison System in Pakistan, published in Pakistan Journal of Criminology. Vol.2.No.3. July 2010.

International Center for Prison Studies. (2012). Entire world—Prison Population Rates per 100,000 of the national population . Retrieved May 05, 2012 from http://www.prisonstudies.org/info/worldbrief/wpb_stats.php?area=all&category=wb_poprate .

 A major part of this portion is taken with permission from the essay of Mazhar A. Bhutta Community Based Rehabilitation of Offenders; an Overview of Probation and Parole System in Pakistan, published in Pakistan Journal of Criminology. Vol. 2. No. 3. July 2010.

 Section 4 of THE PROBATION OF OFFENDERS ORDINANCE, 1960, Ordinance No. XLV of 1960

4. Conditional discharges, etc. — (1) Where a court by which a person, not proved to have been previously convicted, is convicted of an offence punishable with imprisonment for not more than two years is of opinion, having regard to:—(a) the age, character, antecedents or physical or mental condition of the offender, and (b) the nature of the offence or any extenuating circumstances attending the commission of the offence,that it is inexpedient to inflict punishment and that a probation order is not appropriate, the court may, after recording its reasons in writing, make an order discharging him after if admonition,, or, if the court thinks fit, it may likewise make an order discharging him subject to the condition that he enters into a bond, with or without sureties, for committing no offence and being of good behaviour during such period not exceeding one year from the date of the order as may be specified therein. (2) An order discharging a person subject to such condition as aforesaid is hereafter in this Ordinance referred to as “an order for conditional discharge”, and the period specified in any such order as “the period of conditional discharge”. (3) Before making an order for conditional discharge, the court shall explain to the offender in ordinary language that if he commits any offence or does not remain of good behaviour during the period of conditional discharge he will be liable to be sentenced for the original offence.(4) Where a person conditionally discharged under this section is sentenced for the offence in respect of which the order for conditional discharge was made, that order shall cease to have effect.

Section 2 of the Good Conduct Prisoners’ Probational Release Act, 1926 of Pakistan.

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Jianhong Liu

Centre for Criminology and Criminal Just, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom

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Crime record flow in Pakistan

• Source : Revised Curriculum of Criminology ( 2003 ) Higher Education Commission, Curriculum Development Division. Islamabad: Ministry of Education, Pakistan. available at HEC web site, http://www.hec.gov.pk
• Source : Official web site of Department of Criminology, University of Sindh, Jamshoro. Available at http://www.unisindh.edu.pk
• a A subject code
• Source : Official web site of Department of Criminology, University of Punjab. Available at http://www.pu.edu.pk
• Source : Provided by a Master Student of the Criminology, Karachi University
• Source : Fasihuddin ( 2008 ). Expanding Criminology to Pakistan. Peshawar: Pakistan Society of Criminology
• Source : Police Rules, 1934. Chapter XXII Police Station, PR 22.45
• a These two registers were designed and added by the PSC in joint collaboration with Ministry of Human Rights and Save the Children, Sweden and UNIFEM for KPK Police which are now also added to Balochistan Police. These two new registers are now fully introduced in two of the four provinces in Pakistan

Police Organization and Administration with special Reference to Recruitment and Training. & Training College & Source: Fasihuddin ( 2009 ). Police Education and Training in Pakistan: Pakistan Journal of Criminology. Vol.1. No.2. July 2009. p. 53

Functions of the Police

It includes, but is not limited to,

Protect life, property and liberty of citizens;

Preserve and promote public peace;

Ensure that the rights and privileges, under the law, of a person taken in custody, are protected;

Prevent the commission of offences and public nuisance;

Collect and communicate intelligence affecting public peace and crime in general;

Keep order and prevent obstruction on public roads and in the public streets and thoroughfares at fairs and all other places of public resort and in the neighbourhood of and at the places of public worship;

Regulate and control traffic on public roads and streets;

Take charge of all unclaimed property and to prepare its inventory;

Detect and bring offenders to justice;

Apprehend all persons whom police are legally authorized to apprehend and for whose apprehension, sufficient grounds exist;

Ensure that the information about the arrest of a person is promptly communicated to a person of his choice;

Enter and inspect without a warrant on ­reliable information any public place, shop or gaming-house where alcoholic drinks or narcotics are sold or weapons are illegally stored and other public places of resort of loose and disorderly characters;

Obey and promptly execute all lawful orders;

Aid and co-operate with other agencies for the prevention of destruction of public property by violence, fire, or natural calamities;

Assist in preventing members of public from exploitation by any person or organized groups;

Take charge of lunatics at large to prevent them from causing harm to themselves or other members of the public and their property; and

Prevent harassment of women and children in public places.

Affording relief to people in distress situations, particularly in respect of women and children;

Providing assistance to victims of road accidents; and

Assisting accident victims or their heirs or their dependants, where applicable, with such information and documents as would facilitate their compensation claims.

• Source : HRCP/CHRI 2010. (2010). Police Organization in Pakistan. Lahore: Human Rights Commission of Pakistan

Appendix 10

Appendix 11.

Classification of Criminal Courts Under Section 6 of CrPC. Source: Barakatullah ( 2010 ). Judicial System of Pakistan: Pakistan Journal of Criminology Vol. 2. No. 3. July 2010

Appendix 12

Classification of Courts. Source: Barakatullah ( 2010 ). Judicial System of Pakistan: Pakistan Journal of Criminology Vol. 2. No. 3. July 2010. Addl: Additional. Sub. Div: Sub Divisional. Asstt: Assistant

Appendix 13

A detailed list of all the functions by a Probation Officers has been given in the Probation of Offenders Ordinance (1960), Section 10 which are

Explain to every probationer placed under his charge, the terms and conditions of the Probation order made in respect of such probationer, and if so deemed necessary, by warnings, endeavour to ensure their observance by the probationer;

In the first 2 months of probation of every probationer under his charge, meet the probationer at least once in a fortnight, and thereafter, subject to the provisions of the Officer in Charge, keep in close touch with the probationer, meet him frequently, make enquiries into his conduct, mode of life and environments, and wherever practicable, visit his home from time to time;

If any probationer under his charge be out of employment, endeavour to find suitable employment for him and assist, befriend, advise and strive to improve his conduct and general conditions of living;

Encourage every probationer placed under his supervision to make use of any recognized agency, statutory or voluntary, which might contribute towards his welfare and general well-being, and to take advantage of the social, recreational and educational facilities which such agencies might provide;

Where a probationer under his supervision, who has executed a bond, with sureties under section 5, is found to have committed any breach of the terms of his bond, or to have otherwise misconducted himself, to bring such breach or misconduct to the notice of his sureties;

Maintain the books and registers and submit reports prescribed under these rules; and

Subject to the provisions of these rules shall carry out the instructions of the Court in regard to any probationer placed by the Court under his supervision.

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Fasihuddin (2013). Criminology and Criminal Justice System in Pakistan. In: Liu, J., Hebenton, B., Jou, S. (eds) Handbook of Asian Criminology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5218-8_17

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• Criminal Justice System In Pakistan: A Critical Analysis

Executive Summary

The Criminal Justice System in Pakistan comprises of five components i.e. the police, judiciary, prisons, prosecution, probation and parole. This study discusses and analyzes the efficiency level of these components by taking into account the work assigned and disposed of by every component of the criminal justice system during the year 2014. The scope of the study was limited to the four provinces namely Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. Data for cases registered by police, district and superior judiciary and prisons was obtained. A mix of primary and secondary data was used. It transpired that during the year 2014, a total of 612,835 cases were registered by police in four provinces of Pakistan out of which 26 percent were still pending with the police at the end of the year. Similarly cases taken up by the district courts at trial stage in the four provinces were 2,160,752 and 69.2 percent cases were disposed of during the year. The disposal rate of High Courts collectively was 53.9 percent and the disposal rate by the Supreme Court was less than fifty percent. The jails were found to be over crowded as they were overpopulated by 156 percent and majority included under-trial prisoners. Even though prosecution has been separated from police, it is still in infancy and no specialization or work load management system is in place. No credible data as to probation and parole was available, so it appeared to be a much neglected area. More or less the performance of criminal justice system is not at its optimal level in Pakistan and remedial measures like improvement and enhancement of physical infrastructures and capacity building of existing police, investigators, judges, prosecutors and jail staff is required along with focus on enhancing the existing strengths of investigators, judges, prosecutors and jails in order to improve the efficiency level and effectiveness of service delivery by the criminal justice system as a whole.

Glossary of Terms

FIR                   First Information Report

Challan            Police report under section 173 of CrPC

CrPC                Criminal Procedure Code 1898

PPC                  Pakistan Penal Code 1860

The criminal justice system in Pakistan is known to be faulty, exploitative and inequitable. These problems are most certainly some of the main causes behind high crime rates [1]. The civil and criminal justice system in Pakistan is confronted today with the serious crisis of abnormal delays. Delay in litigation of civil and criminal cases has become chronic and proverbial. The phenomenon is not restricted to Pakistan; it is rather historical and universal. It is inherent in every judicial system which meticulously guards against any injustice being done to an individual in a civil dispute or criminal prosecution. A paramount principle of the criminal justice system is that an accused is punished only after his or her guilt is proved beyond a shadow of doubt. Similarly, justice demands that in the trial of a civil case, the dispute must be decided strictly in accordance with the law and on the principles of equity, justice and fair-play. Such universally recognized and time-tested principles are also in accordance with the injunctions of Islam as the Holy Quran ordains that Muslims must eschew injustice, coercion and suppression.

The criminal justice system is defined as the set of agencies and processes established by governments to control crime and impose penalties on those who violate laws. This system has various components which have to work in harmony and support of each other in order to provide justice to not only to the victim but to the accused as well [2].

A good and reliable system of criminal justice not only caters to speedy remedy for the victims of crime but also safeguards and protects the legitimate rights of the accused. The system is based on fairness, equality, justice and fair-play for all – a system that deals with crime and criminals with the view to maintain peace and order in the society [3].

Criminal justice is the system of practices and institutions of the government directed at upholding social control, deterring and mitigating crime, or sanctioning those who violate laws with criminal penalties and rehabilitation efforts. Criminal justice system mainly consists of three parts:

(i) Police (law enforcement); (ii) Courts (adjudication/trial); (iii) Prisons (corrections/ probation and parole).

The criminal justice system of Pakistan has been inherited from the British. This system aims to reduce crime, bring more offenders to justice and raise public confidence that the system is fair and will deliver justice for law-abiding citizens.

The major and important deficiencies and weaknesses of the criminal justice system of Pakistan are accurate reporting of crime to the police, malpractices during litigation, delayed submission of challans to the courts by public prosecutors, lopsided and long duration of trials where the accused is considered to be the favourite child of the court, overcrowding of jails due to a large number of under-trial prisoners, underdeveloped system of parole and probation and capacity issues. These weaknesses, especially capacity issues, are not restricted to any one segment of the criminal justice system – all components including law enforcement, judiciary and corrections/prisons equally fall short.

The legal basis of the criminal justice system of Pakistan includes the Criminal Procedure Act of 1898  (popularly known as the  CrPC ) and Pakistan Penal Code 1860  which lay out the foundations, procedures and functions of all components of the system starting from reporting of the case to police, its trial by courts, appeals and correction at jails. However, even though amendments from time to time had been made in laws to cater for changing needs, Islamize laws and keep them up-to-date, the major shape is still the same. Unfortunately, Pakistan’s system has failed to achieve the wider objectives, that is why the Supreme Court observed that “…people are losing faith in the dispensation of criminal justice by ordinary criminal courts for the reason that they either acquit the accused persons on technical grounds or take a lenient view in awarding sentences [4].”  This has resulted more often in people resorting to street justice and incidents involving lynching of criminals by public which have been reported by media a number of times [5].

Owing to the above shortcomings, the whole system of criminal justice is considered to be underperforming. In the past, several attempts were made at amending the legal framework to make the system efficient and improve its efficiency and effectiveness but those were largely in bits and pieces and were done half-heartedly, not yielding any positive results [6].

To critically analyze the functioning and interrelations of various components (police, courts, prisons, etc.) and their correlation with each other, the study will also focus on the weaknesses of the system and coordinated efforts to improve efficiency.

The main objective of the research is to analyze the flaws of the criminal justice system/criminal prosecution system in Pakistan and to find effective solutions to create an accessible, efficient and reliable justice system in Pakistan. Moreover, this study aims to analyze the issues concerning criminal prosecution, exploitation by law enforcement agencies and the vast problems existing in the lower courts of Pakistan. The study will be carried out with a number of general and specific objectives.

The specific objectives will be to:

(i) Critically analyze the working efficiency of each component in terms of work assigned and disposed of in a specific period of time; (ii) Correlation of these components to one another in the efficient dispensation of justice.

The general objectives will be to:

(i) Identify weaknesses of the system; (ii) Suggest measures for improving the overall efficiency of the criminal justice system.

The study will be limited to the aforementioned four provinces of Pakistan and major components of the criminal justice system i.e. police, judiciary and prisons. Data from calendar year 2014 will be used regarding all these components.

The nature of adversarial litigation is such that the parties themselves are responsible for preparation and presentation of their cases during interlocutory stages at trial. The cases are decided on legal and factual issues presented to the court while parties have complete control in the matter of factual investigation for that purpose. This necessarily means that the pace at which proceedings are pursued is largely dictated by the parties and the traditional role of the court is to adjudicate when called upon to do so [7].

An analytical study of the criminal justice system of Pakistan highlights its main lacunae  and shortcomings and provides viable recommendations so that a fair trial could be ensured and radical changes for overhaul could be enforced [8]. Review of literature that has been carried includes a number of annual reports by various monitoring agencies along with research papers, journals, news items and books on the subject. The following literature was chiefly consulted:

SA Rehman Law Commission  examined the causes of delays in civil and criminal litigation and recommended the appropriate amendments in relevant laws. The Commission, however, did not suggest any radical change in the existing judicial system [9].

Justice Hamood ur Rehman Law Reform Commission Report is a fairly comprehensive report on the subject of delays in civil and criminal litigation. It did not find any major fault with the existing legal system. The report listed recommendations under three categories namely legislative action, strict application of existing laws/rules and administrative action. It proposed for an increase in the number of judicial officers and allied infrastructure to reduce the time in disposal of cases [10].

Law Reform Committee Report recommendations were given with respect to increase the number of judges and provision of infrastructure to improve the work of investigation and prosecution officers [11].

President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice’s  Challenge of Crime in a Free Society (1967)  suggested a systematic approach to criminal justice which improved coordination among law enforcement, courts and correction agencies [12].

Criminal justice system reflects a commitment by the society to prevent and control crime while dealing justly with those accused of violating criminal law [13].

It is a system of people, politics and procedures that interacts dynamically with agencies at all levels of government and with the interests and values of society at large [14].

A defense analyst has noted that, “The Police Order of 2002 increased senior police posts by 300 per cent. More than 15 percent of the police budget funds police administrators in the form of a long chain of supervisors above DSP (Deputy Superintendent Police) level [15].”

A mix of primary and secondary data has been used for the purpose of this study. Data related to the registration of cases by the police was collected from the respective Central Police Offices of the provinces and data about the disposal of criminal cases by district judiciary, high courts and supreme court was collected from Judicial Statistics of Pakistan for the year 2014.

Percentage analysis was used as the primary tool of data analysis. Percentage change – between the work assigned, disposed of and pending – has been the criterion to assess the output.

This paper consists of three main parts i.e. role of police, role of Judiciary and role of jails/prison departments in the criminal justice system. Furthermore the strong and weak areas will be identified accordingly with conclusion and recommendations.

Role of Police

The police has been entrusted under law to protect the life and property of citizens of the country. Criminal Procedure Code and Police Order 2002 provide necessary legal cover to the police to perform this function and bring criminals to book.

Police is the first and foremost component of the criminal justice system. Persons aggrieved of highhandedness approach the police for legal protection and redressal of grievances. This forms the basis of criminal action and the foundation of criminal justice system.

Registration of FIR: Criminal justice begins with a First Information Report (FIR) at a police station. It has been observed and usually complained about that police avoids registering the crime when reported and usually delays the registration of FIR. The delay in registration of FIR is due to a number of reasons, the foremost being non-willingness on the part of police as it will reflect badly on their performance. Other reasons may include extraneous pressures and corruption. The second stage is apprehension or arrest. The law requires any person taken into police custody to be presented before a court within 24 hours, with the magistrate then determining whether, prima facie , there are grounds for a case. This process, more often than not, is honoured. Magistrates commonly order a remand without even seeing the accused. Moreover, when judges do not remand the accused, the police often re-arrest him or her. By law, the accused cannot be in police custody for more than fourteen days, although courts typically grant extensions on the grounds that the police need more time to recover evidence. Meanwhile, the police are said to torture the accused to get a confession.

To provide relief to general public in the registration of FIRs and to counter delays, an amendment was made in CrPC and justices-of-peace were introduced by inserting a new section 22 A & B .   Delay in registration of FIRs, non-registration of FIRs and the powers of justice-of-peace   are dealt with under the said section.

However, the police still have to register the FIR as justice-of-peace can only pass an administrative order to the concerned Station House Officer (SHO) for registration of FIR. No separate register for registration of such FIRs has been prescribed. If the same is prescribed, a problem will arise as to who would carry out the investigation and submit challan to the court, the police or the justice-of-peace?

It has also been observed that after the introduction of section 22A and B,  the number of false FIRs has increased as the FIRs which were usually not registered by the local police on suspicion of being false and fabricated, are now ordered under 22A of CrPC  by the concerned justice-of-peace directing local police to register the same. This has largely been misused.

Investigation:  This is the second most important function performed by the police. After the registration of FIR the matter is assigned to a police officer for investigation. Investigation is carried out under the procedure given in CrPC as well as the guidelines given in Chapter 25 of the Police Rules 1934 . Investigation is the process of collection of evidence to establish the commission of any offence and the roles played by individuals in commission of those offences. Once evidence is collected and grounds of involvement or innocence of the accused are established, the investigating officer (IO) prepares challan for submission to the court. CrPC provides powers to the investigating officer to acquit any accused against whom no evidence of involvement is found under section 169 but this practice is usually disliked by the courts and they insist that the police should challan  them under Column No.2 of the challan . This causes delay in justice and puts the falsely implicated persons under undue torture and delay in getting relief and being discharged. All accused against whom no evidence is received should be released by the police.

Quality of investigation by police and timely completion of investigation is of vital importance for the dispensation of justice and effective operation of the criminal justice system. Under the law, investigation officer is bound to submit challan in 17 days before the court. As it is practically not possible to collect all of the evidence in such short time, interim challans are submitted in this period and investigations at times take months to complete.

FIGURE I – Police Work Load 2014

Figure I depicts the registration of FIRs by various provinces and the challans submitted. It is clear that the maximum number of FIRs was registered in Punjab whereas Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police was able to send the maximum number of registered cases to court.

During the year 2014, a total of 612,385 FIRs were registered by the four provinces’ police. This is the number of crimes that has been registered by police. The actual number of crimes reported to the police is higher than this as there is a tendency that not all of the crimes reported to the police get registered. Similarly there are also some instances where crimes are not reported to police at all.

Police submitted almost 80% of the cases to court after investigation and at the end of the year only 27% of the cases were pending for investigation with the police. The detailed breakup province-wise is given in Figure I.

It is evident from the data of the year 2014 that a total of 612385 FIRs were registered by the police all over Pakistan out of which almost 3% were cancelled for being false or lacking evidence and 52% were challaned and sent to courts. The cases under investigation come to around 4%. We can safely infer from this data that police has completed almost 97% of the work assigned during this period. This analysis is purely on the quantity of work disposed of and not on the quality of investigations.

FIGURE II :  Annual Police Workload Country-Wide

Source: Central Police Offices Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan.

Reforms in Police System: Much has been talked about reforms in the police system but all of these are cosmetic. No real focus has been made on the root causes of the problems. Mere amendment in laws will not yield the desired results.

Police powers under s.54 and 169 CrPC are largely criticized by the judiciary for their misuse by the police. Law has given powers to police officers which they should exercise in a transparent manner and in the interests of justice. An SHO has been been given powers of bail but these are not exercised in ordinary circumstances. The application of law and the use of powers of bail by an SHO should be without fear or favor as it will be the first level of redressal or relief to any accused against whom a false FIR has been registered. It should rather be made mandatory that any person against whom an FIR has been registered should be accorded the facility of bail as soon as he or she reports at the concerned police station while investigation on him or her should be conducted in the same manner as of any other person on bail before arrest.

Police stations are also inadequately equipped, sometimes even lacking proper premises. Police budgets do not cover individual stations. Instead, allocations for arms and ammunition, transport, maintenance, stationery and other necessary items are centralized in provincial police budgets and then distributed to stations. Many stations do not have their basic requirements met and their monthly expenditures outpace their allocations. Most stations are self-financed to a significant extent. For example, police may pay for their own stationery and maintenance of vehicles, including petrol. The SHO becomes beholden to others because he or she is relying on them to provide the station with vehicles, equipment, and so on, to be able to carry out their jobs. The SHO is similarly beholden to superiors who often interfere in the business of police stations on behalf of outsiders, including intelligence officials. The Police Order 2002 made the force even more top-heavy, further weakening police stations’ operational independence and efficacy.

Role of Judiciary

Pakistan’s courts and prisons are overburdened. At the start of 2014, excluding those before special courts and administrative tribunals, there were more than 138,296 cases pending in the superior courts, including the Supreme Court and provincial High Courts, and more than 2.6 million with the subordinate judiciary. Police, lawyers and judges agree that the number of courts needs to be doubled at a minimum [16]. Staffing those courts will be an even more crucial task. Around 900 magistrates with civil and criminal jurisdiction for a population of roughly 160 million handle around 75 per cent of all criminal cases [17]. While there have been some improvements in recruitment and salaries, with the Punjab government for example tripling judicial officers’ salaries, the benefits are not visible yet and trained judges are scarce.

There is the Supreme Court with its principal seat in Islamabad, High courts in all provinces and sessions courts in each district of the province headed by sessions judges who deal with criminal cases. Then there are further subordinate courts of additional sessions judges and judicial magistrates.

Criminal cases punishable with death and life imprisonment as well as cases arising out of the enforcement of laws relating to Hudood are tried by sessions judges. Offences not punishable with death or life imprisonment are tried by judicial magistrates.

An appeal against the sentence passed by a sessions judge lies to the High Court and against the sentence passed by a judicial magistrate, a special judicial magistrate or a special magistrate to the sessions judge if the term of sentence is up to four years, otherwise to the High Court.

Trial Stage: Trials are carried out at district levels where subordinate judiciary undertakes the same. There is a rampant delay in deciding cases and it is owing to this delay in framing charges, recording evidence, examining witnesses and other delaying tactics used by lawyers for ulterior motives, that derail due process for the benefit of the accused. There is no fixed time-frame for the completion of trial in criminal cases.

FIGURE III:   Annual District Judiciary Work Load Province Wise Year 2014

Source: Judicial Statistics of Pakistan 2014

Province wise breakup of disposal of work by the district judiciary is given in Figure III.

FIGURE IV:   Annual District Judiciary Work Load Year 2014

The highest pendency brought forward was 29% in the district courts of Sindh. The highest disposal of cases was 79.9% carried out by the district courts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa followed by 79.8% by the district courts of Balochistan. The least disposal of cases was by the district judiciary of Punjab.

A total of 2,160,752 cases were placed before the trial courts during the year 2014. Out of these 592,964 had been brought forward from the previous year 2013. The total cases disposed of during the year were 1,495,783 which were 35% of the total cases for the year 2014. The cases pending were about 14% of the total. It is pertinent to mention that a bulk of cases, that is 37% is instituted during the year. The balance brought forward and left at the end of the year is almost same which shows that the level of pendency is not decreasing rather it is increasing at a constant rate. This is alarming and needs special attention and efforts to tackle otherwise it will keep on increasing and will defeat the actual rate of disposal severely. This also highlights that cases are delayed for over one year. The reason as highlighted earlier is the huge burden of cases per judge.

High Courts:  There are four High Courts in the country with principal seats in all the provincial headquarters. The cases instituted by the High Courts and their disposal are shown in FIGURE V below.

FIGURE V: Annual Workload of High Courts Province-Wise Year 2014

The highest pendency brought forward from the previous year was in Sindh High Court. Peshawar High court was the most efficient in disposal of assigned work as it had disposed off almost 63% of the cases followed by Lahore High court with 59.5% disposal rate. The minimum disposal of cases during the year was of Sindh High Court as reflected in the figure.

The pie-chart shows the collective disposal rate of all High Courts of the four provinces, which comes to 27% of the cases (instituted and brought forward) at the beginning of year 2014. 22% pendency was brought forward and at the end of year 2014, it rose to 23%. This situation is not very satisfactory.

FIGURE VI:   Annual Workload of High Courts Case-Wise Year 2014

Supreme Court:  The delay at Supreme Court level is not only phenomenal but also causing an increasing backlog. There is a proverb that “justice delayed is justice denied”. In a recent case of Khawaja Mazhar Inayat, the accused who was convicted in a murder case in 1997 by the lower judiciary, was exonerated of the charges being false by the Supreme Court after almost 20 years of that conviction. It transpired later that the said accused had died of a cardiac arrest two years earlier (in 2014) in District Jail Jhelum.

A total of 10,730 criminal cases were placed before the Supreme Court of Pakistan during the year 2014. Out of these 5,379 were instituted during the year 2014. 5,320 cases were disposed off during the year 2014, which comes to around 49.5% and the balance left behind is about 5210 cases, that is almost 48.55%. It is pertinent to note that the pendency brought forward was 49.8%. Accordingly, the pendency brought forward and disposal is almost at the same rate.

FIGURE VII:   Annual Work Load of Supreme Court of Pakistan in the year 2014

Figure VII clearly shows that the pendency brought forward is almost equal to the disposal. The remaining balance is almost equal to what the Supreme Court started with at the beginning of the year. There is a need for the ratio of disposal of cases by Supreme Court to be higher than the cases instituted or pending, only that way it will be able to clear the pendency otherwise the level of pendency will remain the same.

Prosecutors: The decision to take a case to trial ultimately rests with the prosecutor. While the courts, prisons and police represent the public face of the justice system, the relatively small prosecution services have lesser needs for elaborate infrastructure than the other three. Nevertheless, they form the core of the criminal justice system and their effectiveness determines the effectiveness of the system. Until 2002, prosecution services were part of the police. Each provincial force maintained its own prosecution wing, comprising of law graduates of the rank of sub-inspector, inspector or deputy superintendent. The Police Order 2002 separated prosecution services from police, bringing them under the Law Department. Between 2003 and 2006, all four provinces passed a Criminal Prosecution Service Act to establish “an independent, effective and efficient service for prosecution of criminal cases, for better coordination in the criminal justice system of the province”  [18]. A Prosecutor General heads each provincial service, appointed by the provincial government. Below him or her are Additional Prosecutors General, Deputy Prosecutors General and Assistant Prosecutors General – there are District Public Prosecutors, Deputy District Public Prosecutors and Assistant District Public Prosecutors at the district level. Separating police and prosecution was overdue, but the newly established service faces major difficulties. Inducting recruits with criminal law expertise remains a major challenge, particularly as the prosecution services have yet to develop their institutional identity. “Prosecutors with only three or four years of experience are serving as District Attorneys or Assistant District Attorneys,”  said a former Inspector General (IG) Punjab [19]. A former Supreme Court Chief Justice added that, “ To separate prosecution from the police, you need to properly fund it and equip it with a competent lawyer. That has not happened.”

Since no data was available as to how much work had been assigned per year to prosecutors, parole and probation officers, no analysis as to their work assigned and disposed of in a year was carried out.

Role of Prisons

Prisons are overcrowded, with prisoners on trial accounting for more than 80 percent of the prison population. Only 27,000 of the country’s roughly 81,000 prisoners have been convicted. In early 2010, a major prison in Lahore, with a capacity for 1,050 held 4,651 prisoners. There has been some improvement in recent years. In August 2008, for instance, Sindh’s prison population was over 20,000; by September 2010 Sindh’s prisons held 18,234 prisoners but still significantly above the prison capacity of 9,541 and with only 2,641 convicts [20]. Prison resources, which would be inadequate even for a smaller prison population, are overstretched. A Sindh provincial minister told the Sindh Assembly that the government had only 155 vans to bring more than 13,000 prisoners to courts and that is why prisoners are seldom transported to courts on the date of their hearing. “It seems to take more time to bring a person to court than to actually dispose of the case,”  said a former Sindh Advocate General. Conditions are abysmal and prisoners’ rights are regularly violated, for example, remand prisoners are assigned to labourious work in contravention of the law.

This huge prison population also poses serious security implications – law enforcement officials refer to prisons as the ‘think-tanks’ of militant groups, where networks are established and operations are planned, facilitated by the availability of mobile phones and a generally permissive environment. Prisons have thus become major venues of jihadi recruitment and activity.

There have been a few sustained efforts to address overcrowding and the conditions of prisoners under-trial, and to even implement existing codes and procedures. In 1972, Pakistan’s first elected government led by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s People’s Party, introduced a reforms-package aimed at improving delivery of justice and provision of relief for prisoners through bail. According to  Section 426 (I-A) of the CrPC :

An appellate court shall, unless for reasons to be recorded in writing it otherwise directs, order a convicted person to be released on bail who has been sentenced a) to imprisonment for a period not exceeding three years and whose appeal has not been decided within a period of six months of conviction; b) to imprisonment for a period exceeding three years but not exceeding seven years and whose appeal has not been decided within a period of one year of conviction.

The prisons are overcrowded, most of them with prisoners under-trial. The total capacity of all prisons in four provinces is 50,709. However, prisoners housed at present in these prisons are 80,089 which is almost 158 percent of the existing capacity. The highest percentage is that of under-trial prisoners, which accounts for 149 percent.

Table I : BUILT CAPACITY AND CURRENT POPULATION OF PRISONS IN PAKISTAN

Source: http://sindh.gov.pk/dpt/sindh_prsions/All%20PDF/Population%20Statement.pdf

Probation: Probation is the judicial action that allows the offender to remain in the community, subject to conditions imposed by court order, under the supervision of a probation officer. It enables the offender to continue working while avoiding the pains of imprisonment. In developed countries, social services are provided to help the offender adjust in the community – counselling, assistance from social workers and group treatments as well as the use of community resources to obtain employment, welfare and housing, etc. are offered to the offender while on probation. In some countries community-based correctional centers have been established for first-time offenders where they live while keeping their jobs or obtaining education [21].

Parole:  The parole system in our country is not much established. In other developed countries the convicted are selected for early release on the condition that they obey a set of restrictive behavioral rules under the supervision of a parole officer. The main purpose of early release is to help the ex-inmate bridge the gap between institutional confinement and positive adjustment within the community [22].

After their release offenders are supervised by parole authorities who also help them find jobs, deal with family and social difficulties and gain treatment for emotional or substance abuse problems. If the offender violates the conditions of community supervision, parole may be revoked and that person may be sent back to jail for completion of his or her remaining term [23]. A system of remissions is in practice whereby a remission/reduction in sentence is granted keeping in view the good behavior of the convict and the nature of crime committed by him or her.

The criminal justice system of Pakistan is not performing according to the wishes and expectations of the public and the values of society. Dispensation of justice gets delayed in the process of registration of FIRs by police, poor quality of investigations, long duration of trials, poor prosecution, overcrowded jails, rampant corruption among all departments dispensing justice, lack of infrastructure facilities for police, courts, prosecutors and jails to adequately and properly meet workload and the absence of a conducive work environment. This is resulting in constant increase in pendency and poor disposal ratio.

The following recommendations are proposed for the improvement of criminal justice system:

1. The Criminal Procedure Code needs to be redrafted and amended with specific reference to police responsibilities and powers for:

a. Registration of FIR Section 154 . Redesigning business procedure for simplified registration of FIR. b. Police powers to release accused during course of investigation if no evidence found under Section 169. c. Repealing section 22A and B  relating to justice-of-peace for the purposes of registration of FIR. d. Redesigning the form for submission of challan under s.173 and the time-frame for submission of challan . e. Fixation of time-frame to conclude trial by the courts once challan is submitted by police.

2. Amendments in Qanoon-e-Shahadat Ordinance should be made by:

a. Including confession before a police officer as admissible evidence. b. Giving more weightage to circumstantial evidence as compared to eye-witness account.

3. All offences to be made cognizable and the distinction of cognizable and non-cognizable to be abolished.

4. Registering FIR by police and amending law to provide for FIR should not be the basis for the arrest of any accused. Arrest can be made based on warrants duly issued by the court after examination of evidence produced by the police.

5. The importance of police stations in maintaining computerized records of all FIRs cannot be over-emphasized. It is necessary to devise a process for citizens to check the status of their FIRs and complain to the proper authority in case of neglect. Online computerization of the registration of FIRs, criminal investigation and court proceedings, along with jail authorities maintaining proper coordination among all components of the criminal justice system will improve transparency and reduce delays.

6. A monthly progress review should be made on district as well as provincial level by the Deputy Commissioners/ DCOs and Chief Secretary to assess the working performance of all the components of criminal justice system.

7. All provincial High Courts and district courts be made accountable for their performance to the government, as there is often a gross misuse of the term ‘independence of judiciary’ by the judiciary itself to ridicule other government institutions, for personal gains and satisfaction of egos. Since judiciary is being financed by taxpayers’ money, they should also be held accountable to the public and the state, through an independent system as well as through internal checks.

8. Infrastructure development is necessary at police station level as well as trial-court level.

9. The cost of investigations should be realistically calculated and budgeted accordingly.

10. Production of witnesses from both prosecution and defense sides should be ensured and the process of serving should be updated electronically by developing a mechanism to record their evidence in one sitting.

11. Ongoing empowerment and capacity building of police, judiciary and jail staff for timely and efficient dispensation of justice and quick disposal of cases must be ensured.

12. Human resources must be enhanced i.e. the number of investigation officers and judicial officers, in order to conduct trials more efficiently and reduce pendency of cases under trial.

13. Video-conferencing should be encouraged to save the time and cost of travel otherwise carried out to physically produce the accused before court from the police station or jail.

14. Establishment of separate prisons for under-trial and convicted prisoners and a more organized system of probation and parole to reduce the burden on existing jails should be ensured.

———

References and Bibliography

[1] Hamza, Hameed, and Kamil, Jamshed, “A study of criminal law & prosecution system in Pakistan 2013” [2] Munir, A, Mughal, “Law of investigation into cognizable case”.2009 [3] Munir, A, Mughal, “Law of investigation into cognizable case”.2009 [4] Ali, Sardar Hamza. “An Analytical Study of Criminal Justice System of Pakistan (with special reference to the province of punjab).” Journbal of Political Studies, Vol.22, Issue-1, 2015. [5] www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2016/07/17/city/karachi/alleged-mugger-lynched-in-city/ [6] Jamshed, Hamza Hameed & Kamil. A study of Criminal Law & Prosecution System in Pakistan. Manzil Pakistan, 2013. [7] Karim, Justice (R) Fazal. Access to Justice in Pakistan. 2003. [8] Ali, Sardar Hamza. “An Analytical Study of Criminal Justice System of Pakistan (with special reference to the province of punjab).” Journbal of Political Studies, Vol.22, Issue-1, 2015. [9] Rehman, S A. “Law Commission Report.” 1958. [10] Hamood ur Rehman,  “Law Reform Commission Report.” 1996. [11] Law reform committee report 2015 [12] President’s Commission on law enforcement and Administration of Justice (1967) [13] Smith, Christopher E. American Crimnal Justice System . 2013. [14] Smith, George F Cole and Christopher E. The American system of Criminal Justice . Belmontn CA, 1998. [15] International Crisis Group working to prevent conflict world. Reforming Pakistan’s Criminal Justice System. Asia Report No 196 , 2010. [16] International Crisis Group working to prevent     conflict world. Reforming Pakistan’s Criminal Justice System. Asia Report No 196 , 2010. [17] Judicial statistics of Pakistan 2014 [18] International Crisis Group working to prevent conflict world. Reforming Pakistan’s Criminal Justice System. Asia Report No 196 , 2010. [19] International Crisis Group working to prevent conflict world. Reforming Pakistan’s Criminal Justice System. Asia Report No 196 , 2010. [20] International Crisis Group working to prevent conflict world. Reforming Pakistan’s Criminal Justice System. Asia Report No 196 , 2010. [21] https://pakistanilaws.wordpress.com/2012/05/03/criminal-justice-system-in-pakistan-2/ [22] ibid [23] The Good Conduct Prisoners Probational Release Act 1926

Ali, Ashraf. Probation and Parole System A case Study of Pakistan. a, 2013. Ali, Ashraf. Probation and Parole System: A Case Study of Pakistan. Mardan: Abdul Wali Khan University, 2013. Ali, Sardar Hamza. “An Analytical Study of Criminal Justice System of Pakistan (with special reference to the province of Punjab).” Journal of Political Studies, Vol.22, Issue-1, 2015. Jamshed, Hamza Hameed & Kamil. A study of Criminal Law & Prosecution System in Pakistan. Manzil Pakistan, 2013. Karim, Justice (R) Fazal. Access to Justice in Pakistan. 2003. Mughal, Dr Munir A. “Law of investigation into cognizable case.” Punjab University Law College, 2009. Pakistan, Law & Justice Commission of. Judicial Statistics of Pakistan, Annual Report 2014. Annual Report, Islamabad: Law & Justice Commission of Pakistan, 2014. Rehman, S A. “Law Commission Report” 1958. Smith, Christopher E. American Crimnal Justice System 2013. Smith, George F Cole and Christopher E. The American system of Criminal Justice . Belmontn CA, 1998. “The Good Conduct Prisoners Probation Release Act 1926” n.d. “The Probation of Offenders ordinance 1960” n.d. International Crisis Group working to prevent conflict world. Reforming Pakistan’s Criminal Justice System. Asia Report No 196, 2010.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of CourtingTheLaw.com or any organization with which he might be associated.

Author: Syed Junaid Arshad

The writer is a police officer with more than sixteen years of experience working in law enforcement and is currently posted as AIG Crimes, Gilgit Baltistan. Alumni of JCLEC and a resource person on Anti Human Trafficking for UNODC. He is a Certified Master Trainer on Money Laundering and international terrorism and drafting of legal frame work organized by UNODC. He authored a booklet on community and rural policy during his tenure as SP Saddar Gujranwala and standard operating procedures for security of VVIPs while posted at PM House. He also formulated a plan to revamp the Elite Police Force Punjab and drafted SOPs for the District Elite Group (DEG) and Special Elite Group (SEG). A public complaint registration business procedure was also introduced by him as DPO at Mandi Bahudin district which had significantly reduced public complaints. He can be reached at [email protected] .

• Criminology and Criminal Justice System of Pakistan

• December 29, 2022
• CSS Criminology Notes

Criminal law, the body of law that defines criminal offenses, regulates the apprehension, charging, and trial of suspected persons, and fixes penalties and modes of treatment applicable to convicted offenders. Criminology is the study of crime. In this article, I am going to discuss the Criminology and the criminal justice system of Pakistan. Let’s start with understanding the nature of criminal law first.

Nature of Criminal Law

Criminal law is distinctive for the uniquely serious, potential consequences or sanctions for failure to abide by its rules. Every crime is composed of criminal elements. Capital punishment may be imposed in some jurisdictions for the most serious crimes.

Physical or corporal punishment may be imposed such as whipping or caning, although these punishments are prohibited in much of the world. Individuals may be incarcerated in prison or jail in a variety of conditions depending on the jurisdiction. Confinement may be solitary.

The length of incarceration may vary from day to live. Government supervision may be imposed, including house arrest, and convicts may be required to conform to particularised guidelines as part of a parole or probation regimen. Fines also may be imposed, seizing money or property from a person convicted of a crime.

Now let’s discuss the 5 objects that are liable for punishment under criminal law:

Retribution

Incapacitation, rehabilitation, restoration.

The jurisdiction of these objects is different in nature. Let’s discuss them individually below.

Balance the scales : Criminals ought to Be Punished in some way. This is the most widely seen goal. Criminals have taken improper advantage, or inflicted unfair detriment, upon others and consequently, the criminal law will put criminals at some unpleasant disadvantage to “balance the scales.”

Righting the balance: People submit to the law to receive the right not to be murdered and if people contravene these laws, they surrender the rights granted to them by the law. Thus, one who murders may be executed himself. A related theory includes the idea of “righting the balance.”

Individual deterrence is aimed toward the specific offender. The aim is to impose a sufficient penalty to discourage the offender from criminal behavior. General deterrence aims at society at large. By imposing a penalty on those who commit offenses, other individuals are discouraged from committing those offenses.

Designed simply to keep criminals away from society so that the public is protected from their misconduct. This is often achieved through prison sentences today. The death penalty or banishment has served the same purpose.

Aims at transforming an offender into a valuable member of society. Its primary goal is to prevent further offense by convincing the offender that their conduct was wrong.

This is a victim-oriented theory of punishment. The goal is to repair, through state authority, any injury inflicted upon the victim by the offender. For example, one who embezzles will be required to repay the amount improperly acquired.

Criminal law concerns the system of legal rules that define what conduct is classified as a crime and how the government may prosecute individuals that commit crimes.

In instances where an individual fails to adhere to a particular criminal statute, he or she commits a criminal act by breaking the law. This is the reason that the state stands as a prosecutor against the alleged culprit.

After knowing this, it is time to understand the criminal justice system of Pakistan.

Understanding “Criminal Justice System of Pakistan”

Pakistan has a very detailed criminal law that is outdated to some extent but it tends to cover all aspects that do constitute a crime. To understand the criminal law in Pakistan one needs to understand the sociocultural phenomena of this country also.

Most of the criminal law that has been prevailing in Pakistan was introduced by the British Empire when India was a colony and Pakistan was part of it. Even then care was taken to understand the social conditions and criminal law was tried to be conditioned according to the cultural circumstances of the colony.

This is the reason that it was wilfully accepted by India and Pakistan both after their freedom from British Empire. The Code of Criminal Procedure (V of 1898) that was implemented in the colony is still largely the prescribed criminal procedure followed by the courts in Pakistan. Similarly, the Penal Code (XLV of 1860) that was introduced in the colony is still largely followed in the shape of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Supreme Court being the apex court of Pakistan has the supreme administrative authority over the functionality of all the criminal courts of Pakistan.

When any person is apprehended for committing any crime, after investigation – that is to be completed within 14 days u/Sec. 173 of Criminal Procedure Code (Cr PC), he or she is subjected to rigorous trial in the prescribed criminal court that has jurisdiction in the said matter.

The court before the commencement of trial is duty bound to allow an alleged offender to appoint defense counsel of his / her choice under Article 10 of the Constitution of Pakistan .

The Court pronounces a Charge against an alleged offender that describes the nature of the offense and the nature of the act or omission that constitutes a specific crime. Thereafter, the prosecution is given an opportunity to present evidence that it has against the alleged offender.

The defense counsel of the alleged offender is given full opportunity to cross-examine and object to the prosecution evidence, within the prescribed limits of the law. Though prosecution being the duty of the state is to be conducted by the state-appointed counsels but any person who is aggrieved by the offense can appoint his or her own prosecution counsel, in addition to the state counsels already duty bound to prosecute.

After the prosecution concludes its evidence the presiding Judge put certain questions u/Sec. 342 Cr PC to the alleged offender. These questions are very crucial as the presiding Judge gives an opportunity to the alleged offender to explain incriminating evidence against him/her. The alleged offender is also given an opportunity to appear as his own witness.

Moreover, he or she is also given an opportunity to present documentary evidence and witnesses in his or her defense. After the conclusion of defense evidence, the trial is concluded and the Presiding Judge pronounces judgment. The judgment could be acquittal or punishment.

In both cases prosecution and alleged offender has right to appeal against the judgement of the trial court. The appeal is made to the immediate superior court of the trial court.

Punishment is a universally accepted mode of retribution and deterrence. Punishment varies with the nature of the crime. Different punishments can be given for the same crime. But retrospective punishment and double punishment, in any case, is specifically prohibited by the Constitution of Pakistan .

The Constitution of Pakistan specifically demarcates the contours of Criminal Law of Pakistan by stating unequivocally in Article 9: “No person shall be deprived of life or liberty save in accordance with law”. And the Law shall never be against the universally accepted Fundamental Rights , this is specifically and explicitly enshrined in Article 8 of the Constitution of Pakistan .

The fundamentals of criminal law are based on the principle of justice, equity and good conscience. They provide adequate guidelines for the formulation a rational penal policy.

In Pakistan, the major statutes relating to criminal law are the Pakistan Penal Code 1860 and the Criminal Procedure Code, 1898. Out of these two the former deals with defining all the offenses and mentioning their punishments along, the former is specifically a code of procedure.

The Criminal Procedure Code prescribes the Constitution of the Criminal Courts and its offices and speaks of the powers of the courts. It contains various general provisions pertaining to the information to the Magistrates and Police and gives the procedure of arrest, escape,s and relating to the process to compel appearance through summons, warrant of arrest, proclamation and attachment, and other rules regarding processes.

The Criminal Procedure Code further defines the steps of submission of sentences for confirmation, execution, suspensions, remissions, and computations of sentences, previous acquittals, and convictions.

This also dictates the steps of Appeals, References, and Revisions. It further has special provisions relating to cases in which European and Pakistan British subjects are concerned and lunatics.

Pakistan Penal Code, 1860 specifies the extent of punishments against different crimes and offenses committed within Pakistan and beyond Pakistan but which by law may be tried within Pakistan and extraterritorial offenses.

The PPC further assigns the policy of general exceptions, right of private defense, abetment, and criminal conspiracy. It further requires actions against offenses against the state, relating to the Army, Navy, and Air Force and against public tranquillity.

Criminal law deals with behavior that is or can be construed as an offense against the public, society, or the state even if the immediate victim is an individual. Examples are murder, assault, theft, and drunken driving. Civil law deals with behavior that constitutes an injury to an individual or other private party, such as a corporation. Examples are defamation (including libel and slander), breach of contract, negligence resulting in injury or death, and property damage.

This is how the Criminology and the criminal justice system of Pakistan work together. I hope you have to understand it well as this will be helpful in preparing for your CSS examination. If you have any questions ask them in the comment section below.

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The Criminal Justice System in Pakistan: A Critical Study

2022, Global Legal Studies Review

In a country like Pakistan, data is seldom celebrated. A takeoff point can be a brief explanation of the Criminal Justice System (CJS), which this layout will endeavor to give ineffectual way. The CJS in Pakistan contains five sections for instance, the police, legitimate chief, confinement offices, arraignment, probation & parole. The degree of the survey was limited to the four regions, be explicit Punjab, Sindh, KPK& Balochistan. Basically, the presentation of CJS isn't at its ideal level in Pakistan as well as mending gauges like improvement & redesign of real establishments as well as cutoff the working of existing police, analysts, judges, specialists, jail staff is required close by revolve around updating the current characteristics of specialists, judges, examiners, remedial offices to additionally foster the usefulness level as well as reasonability of organization movement by the CJS generally.

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The Criminal law is the strongest arm of all the normative systems of society which saves the society from evils, punishes the criminals, curbs, and prevents crimes in the society, frees it of crime or makes continuous efforts to keep it at bay or at least makes offences unattractive, unpleasant, hateful, and unaccepted activity in our society. The criminal procedure is criminal justice in action. The failure of the procedural law means failure of the social goals set by society. With the help of qualitative research methodology, this article discusses the importance of criminal procedural law in the administration of the Criminal Justice System (CJS). It points out the two types of criminal procedural laws in Pakistan; constitutional and ordinary. It also analyses the current situation of the CJS of Pakistan. It also highlights the major problems in the criminal procedure of Pakistan and pointed out the need of revamping the criminal procedure. It also pointed out the need to trans...

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Reformation of Criminal Justice System of Pakistan

• Muhammad Arif Rajput Visiting Faculty Member, Sindh Judicial Academy, Karachi, Pakistan
• Farid Samir Benavides-Vanegas Universidad Católica de Colombia, Colombia

This paper analyzes the loopholes and faults in the Criminal Justice System of Pakistan (CJSP), which is under rising criticism for its ineffectiveness and has been ranked at 108th of the total 139 countries of the world in the Rule of Law Index, 2021. The poor and defective investigation by the police, without any effective prosecutorial or judicial supervision over the process of investigation, is mainly responsible for crippling the CJSP adversarial system, which needs to be reformed to make it effective. A comparative analysis will show that Latin American countries such as Chile, Argentina, México and Colombia have moved from an inquisitorial to an accusatorial system, claiming that this is the best way to protect fundamental rights and to reduce the ever-increasing impunity in these countries. By applying a comparative approach, it shows that both inquisitorial and adversarial system of justice have systematic weaknesses and strengths in their composition. This certainly has motivated the International Criminal Court (ICC), China, Spain, Italy and many other countries to develop an Adquisitorial System-mixed inquisitorial/adversarial system- to get the benefit of best practices of both the systems. The Pakistan case, in relation to the Latin American one, shows that what is important is not to analyze the system in the abstract, but to determine which one solves in a better way the problem a judicial system has: in Pakistan, law and order, given the limitations of police action; in Latin America, the protection of fundamental rights during the criminal process. The case in Pakistan shows that the problems the judicial system is facing can be solved by appealing to a combination of inquisitorial and accusatorial features. This paper concludes suggesting that the existing investigation phase of the CJSP should be transformed, by legal transplant, to an inquisitorial pre-trial investigation process, with necessary modifications, led by the investigative judge while the trial phase remains to be adversarial.

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CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM OF PAKISTAN

Every state enacts and publishes laws according to its peculiar socio-economic and cultural peculiarities. Pakistan inherited prevalent laws from the British Common Law. Pakistan Penal Code (1860) and Criminal Procedure Code (1898) govern dispensation of criminal justice system in Pakistan. Through reformation efforts have been ongoing to reform of the criminal justice system to accommodate socio-economic and cultural challenges, however, same has not been successful due to host of political, social and institutional issues. However, despite challenges, the system has delivered albeit at slow and selective pace. Apropos, there remain gaps in the system which are reflected though Pakistan’s standing in international indices and a general dissatisfaction of masses. The inadequacy of the criminal justice system has been considered as manipulative, cumbersome, slow and inadequate. The inadequacies have impinged upon the governance and national security domains of the State causing negative outlook. Consequently, every stratum of the internal social order, socio-economic and human terrain of national security and principles of governance are witnessing a gradual decline. Consequent outcome is violation of citizen-state contract hence erosion of public trust in the system. This paper undertakes a comprehensive analysis of the Criminal Justice System of Pakistan, focused on reasons for non/ delayed dispensation of justice and its impact on governance & national security, leading to policy recommendation for reforms.

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Your right to know Sunday, April 14, 2024

Pakistan’s Criminal Justice System: Challenges and Reforms

M Umer Rafique

May 18, 2023

Pakistan’s criminal justice system has historically been a source of debate and controversy. For a long time, it has been marred with multiple issues and challenges. Despite significant legislative and judicial reforms, the system has failed to provide victims of crimes with prompt and equitable justice, and severe inadequacies continue to damage Pakistani citizens’ lives. The purpose of this article is to identify the system’s flaws and to propose appropriate system reformation strategies.

Mal-administration; the rigidity of the system; corruption; a lack of resources and abuse of power have long plagued the criminal justice system. These issues have resulted in a system that is often unjust and fails to defend its citizens’ rights. Some of the primary challenges confronting victims, accused, and their families in their pursuit of justice are listed below:

– The period it takes to resolve cases is one of the major problems with Pakistan’s criminal justice system. It is anticipated that it will take many years to conclude all of the pending cases due to the expanding case backlog. The delay is primarily due to a paucity of judges, prosecutors, and court personnel as well as a lack of adequate infrastructure and technology.

– Another key concern in Pakistan’s criminal justice system is power abuse. Abuse can take many different forms, such as judges giving politically unpopular people harsh punishments or police officers using excessive force. The police are routinely accused of violence, torture, and extrajudicial killings during investigations and interrogations. In addition to violating the accused’s core human rights, this also erodes public trust in the legal system.

– The justice system of Pakistan also suffers from the lack of effective legal aid and assistance for the accused. The majority of those charged suffer disadvantages in court because they cannot afford an attorney. The state-funded legal aid system is ineffective and ineffectual at guaranteeing fair representation to the accused.

– The integrity and impartiality of Pakistan’s judicial system are undermined by the pervasiveness of corruption and nepotism. Law enforcement officials, prosecutors, and judges are routinely accused of accepting bribes, tampering with evidence, and favouring influential people or organizations. Crime victims suffer as a result, and public confidence in the justice system is also eroded.

– The nation’s criminal justice system falls short of providing adequate protection for crime witnesses and victims. Since they fear reprisal or vengeance from the accused or their associates, many witnesses and victims are reluctant to testify. In addition to impeding criminal investigation and prosecution, the absence of protection for witnesses and victims also perpetuates a climate of impunity.

– Lack of resources is just another significant hurdle the system must overcome. Numerous courts and police stations are understaffed, and their employees lack the tools and training they need to perform their jobs effectively. This causes protracted delays in trials and investigations, possibly leading to the long-term incarceration of innocent people.

– In addition to the challenges listed above, there is a lack of transparency, political and other influence on law enforcement agencies, the absence of a community policing system, deficiencies in monitoring and evaluation of law enforcement agencies and the judiciary, an ineffective mechanism for redress of grievances, ineffective liaising between institutions involved in the system, slow evolution of laws and procedures, scantiness of supplementary training and capacity building programs for law enforcement personnel, prosecutors & judges, absence of financial autonomy to prisons, non-adoption of modern technologies in policing and judiciary are some avenues that need to be worked on.

Finding solutions to the challenges listed above is achievable, but the will for improvement is the foremost requirement. As a humble student of law, I offer a few suggestions and proposals to address the challenges that are deteriorating the country’s criminal justice system:

– The first step in system reform must be to confront the menace of corruption. This can be accomplished by imposing harsh penalties on corrupt officials and establishing an independent monitoring agency to investigate and prosecute corrupt officials. Furthermore, increasing the salaries of government officials is critical, as the meagre remuneration paid to law enforcement officials is insufficient to provide for their families.

The state-funded legal aid system is ineffective at guaranteeing fair representation to the accused.

– Think tanks should be developed for monitoring along-with intra departmental tiers for effective monitoring. For an efficient and effective judiciary and law enforcement, modern rules and procedures must also be devised with the support of these think tanks.

– To improve transparency and accountability, information technology solutions should be implemented to monitor and report performance outputs and misconduct regularly. IT systems can also be utilized to fix cases; assisting in the reduction of the mountainous backlog of cases.

– Key Performance Indicators need to be created and performance evaluations should be done based on these KPIs objectively.

– The majority of the substantive and procedural legislation governing administration is pre-colonial. Laws must be regularly updated and modified in response to the changing dynamics of society. Offences against the lawful exercise of authority, interference with and influencing public offices, misuse/abuse of authority by public officials, and offences impacting public safety and health need serious consideration.

– To stay up with global technological advances, modern techniques of criminal investigation must be used. This would directly increase law enforcement agencies’ operational capability.

– Public prosecutors are a fundamental aspect of the criminal justice system; nonetheless, their presence is undervalued in the system. There is a dire need to empower this office as it can serve as a check on the investigation conducted by law enforcement agencies.

– Continuous capacity-building measures and training for presiding officers of courts can increase judicial efficiency. Modern tools, such as video conferencing, can be used to make the litigation process more efficient and convenient. Soft filing can go a step further in improving the pace of justice and record keeping.

– Steps should be taken to reduce the number of those awaiting trial in prison. In addition, separate jails for convicted inmates must be built. It is also vital to establish a grievance redressal system for prisons.

– Parole and probation systems should be strengthened and judges should be trained in such laws. More resources need to be allocated to the parole and probation department.

– To empower the judiciary to act independently and impartially, the budget and resources allocated to the judiciary must be increased, resulting in the creation of more judicial positions to reduce the backlog of cases, and ensuring that judges are appointed based on merit and not political affiliations.

– The government should invest in the system by providing resources such as additional employees, sophisticated technology, and specialized training programs. Furthermore, for law enforcement personnel to work efficiently, their work timings should be reduced to 8 hours.

– Police officers should get human rights and procedural justice training. This training will assist police officers better grasp their public responsibilities while ensuring that they act in accordance with the law.

– The government should take steps to improve access to legal aid services, such as opening clinics in remote regions and giving financial support to organizations that provide legal aid.

– Last but not least, restorative justice is an approach to dealing with criminals that focuses on fixing the harm caused by their actions rather than simply punishing them. Restorative justice programs may reduce the burden on the criminal justice system while also encouraging community involvement in the justice process.

Other countries’ examples can serve as a reference for Pakistan’s efforts to modernize its criminal justice system. The United States, for example, has undergone significant transformations in recent years. Police body cams, which have been demonstrated to lower instances of police violence and increase inquiry transparency, have been deployed by many states. Additionally, some states have changed their bail laws to reduce the number of people held without bail pending trial. Another example is the establishment of an independent monitoring organization to review police misconduct in South Africa. This organization has been crucial in reinforcing public confidence in the police and holding police officers responsible for their actions. Moreover, as an alternative to merely punishing offenders, South Africa has established a restorative justice system that places an emphasis on criminal rehabilitation and repairing the damage done to victims.

To summarise, improving Pakistan’s criminal justice system is a complex and multifaceted endeavour that necessitates a comprehensive strategy and collaboration from various stakeholders. A desire for improvement, adequate policymaking in this regard, and the requisite actions can convert this inefficacious system into a better one.

The writer is a lawyer and can be reached at mumerrafiqawan @gmail.com.

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Today's Paper | April 14, 2024

Punjab decides to reform criminal justice system.

RAWALPINDI: The Punjab government has decided to introduce reforms in the criminal justice system of the province with the help of technology to bring down crime rate, ensure speedy trials and improve the performance of the provincial police.

The decision to this effect was taken during a meeting - which took stock of law and order in Punjab - chaired by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz in Murree, says a press release issued by the Directorate of Public Relations.

The statement said that a ‘grand package’ had been formulated to make the province free from crime and corruption.

The meeting also decided that the crimes involving sexual assaults on children and women would be made non-bailable offence and a law to this effect would soon be formulated.

It was also decided to completely overhaul the prosecution department of Punjab and introduce special courts for speedy trials.

“An approval was granted to carry out a campaign for the complete eradication of narcotics from the province,” the statement said, adding that action would also be taken against “organised and cybercrimes” in the province.

“An approval was also accorded to enforce a special audit system in order to ascertain corruption and unprofessional attitude in police,” the statement said, adding that the police officers and officials having ties with corrupt mafias would be held accountable.

“In case of asking for a bribe, a complaint can be registered via CM’s special dashboard,” the statement added.

The CM directed the provincial administration and Punjab police to improve the law and order situation in the province and control the saturation of illegal weapons to make the province secure.

The meeting also decided to take steps to put an end to illegal weapons in the province and banned the issuance of new weapons licences.

It also decided to step up the crackdown on power theft and smuggling in the province.

In order to put an end to smuggling, a proposal for the establishment of a ‘border force’ was also floated.

During the meeting, Maryam Nawaz said there would be zero tolerance for rape cases against women and children.

She also urged the police to use modern technology to improve policing and the quality of prosecution.

She said that the only way to combat crimes was to improve the prosecution and added that a dedicated force would be formed for all types of crimes.

The meeting also decided to put an end to criminal gangs in the province through “effective crackdown for the permanent eradication of terrorism, smuggling and criminal gangs”.

The CM also directed the officials concerned for additional foolproof measures to eliminate kite-flying.

Published in Dawn, April 14th, 2024

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Guest Essay

Don’t Overlook the Power of the Civil Cases Against Donald Trump

By David Lat and Zachary B. Shemtob

Mr. Lat writes about the legal profession. Mr. Shemtob is a lawyer.

For months now, the country has been riveted by the four criminal cases against Donald Trump: the New York state case involving hush-money payments to an adult film star, the federal case involving classified documents, the Georgia election-interference case and the federal election-interference case. But some have been postponed or had important deadlines delayed. The only case with a realistic shot of producing a verdict before the election, the New York case, involves relatively minor charges of falsifying business records that are unlikely to result in any significant prison time . None of the other three are likely to be resolved before November.

It’s only the civil courts that have rendered judgments on Mr. Trump. In the first two months of 2024, Mr. Trump was hit with more than half a billion dollars in judgments in civil cases — around $450 million in the civil fraud case brought by the New York attorney general, Letitia James, and $83.3 million in the defamation case brought by the writer E. Jean Carroll.

For Trump opponents who want to see him behind bars, even a half-billion-dollar hit to his wallet might not carry the same satisfaction. But if, as Jonathan Mahler suggested in 2020, “visions of Donald Trump in an orange jumpsuit” turn out to be “more fantasy than reality,” civil justice has already shown itself to be a valuable tool for keeping him in check — and it may ultimately prove more successful in the long run at reining him in.

The legal system is not a monolith but a collection of different, interrelated systems. Although not as heralded as the criminal cases against Mr. Trump, civil suits have proved effective in imposing some measure of accountability on him, in situations where criminal prosecution might be too delayed, divisive or damaging to the law.

To understand why the civil system has been so successful against Mr. Trump, it’s important to understand some differences between civil and criminal justice. Civil actions have a lower standard of proof than criminal ones. In the civil fraud case, Justice Arthur Engoron applied a “ preponderance of the evidence ” standard, which required the attorney general to prove that it was more likely than not that Mr. Trump committed fraud. (Criminal cases require a jury or judge to decide beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant committed a crime, a far higher standard.) As a result, it is much easier for those suing Mr. Trump in civil court to obtain favorable judgments.

These judgments can help — and already are helping — curb Mr. Trump’s behavior. Since Justice Engoron’s judgment in the civil fraud case, the monitor assigned to watch over the Trump Organization, the former federal judge Barbara Jones, has already identified deficiencies in the company’s financial reporting. After the second jury verdict in Ms. Carroll’s favor, Mr. Trump did not immediately return to attacking her, as he did in the past. (He remained relatively silent about her for several weeks before lashing out again in March.)

Returning to the White House will not insulate Mr. Trump from the consequences of civil litigation. As president, he could direct his attorney general to dismiss federal criminal charges against him or even attempt to pardon himself if convicted. He cannot do either with civil cases, which can proceed even against presidents. (In Clinton v. Jones , the Supreme Court held that a sitting president has no immunity from civil litigation for acts done before taking office and unrelated to the office. And as recently as December, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit made clear that even if the challenged acts took place during his presidency, when the president “acts in an unofficial, private capacity, he is subject to civil suits like any private citizen.”)

It may also be difficult for Mr. Trump to avoid the most serious penalties in a civil case. To appeal both recent civil judgments, Mr. Trump must come up with hundreds of millions of dollars in cash or secure a bond from an outside company. Although he managed to post a $91.6 million bond in the Carroll case, he initially encountered what his lawyers described as “ insurmountable difficulties ” in securing the half-billion-dollar bond he was originally ordered to post in the civil fraud case. An appeals court order last week cut that bond to $175 million — but if Mr. Trump cannot post this bond, Ms. James can start enforcing her judgment by seizing his beloved real estate or freezing his bank accounts. And even though it appears that he will be able to post the reduced bond, the damage done to his cash position and liquidity poses a significant threat to and limitation on his business operations.

Furthermore, through civil litigation, we could one day learn more about the inner workings of the Trump empire. Civil cases allow for broader discovery than criminal cases do. Ms. James, for instance, was able to investigate Mr. Trump’s businesses for almost three years before filing suit. And in the Carroll cases, Mr. Trump had to sit for depositions — an experience he seemed not to enjoy, according to Ms. Carroll’s attorney. There is no equivalent pretrial process in the criminal context, where defendants enjoy greater protections — most notably, the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination.

Finally, civil cases generally have fewer externalities or unintended consequences. There are typically not as many constitutional issues to navigate and less risk of the prosecution appearing political. As a result, civil cases may be less divisive for the nation. Considering the extreme political polarization in the United States right now, which the presidential election will probably only exacerbate, this advantage should not be underestimated.

David Lat ( @DavidLat ), a former federal law clerk and prosecutor, writes Original Jurisdiction , a newsletter about law and the legal profession. Zachary B. Shemtob is a former federal law clerk and practicing lawyer.

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An earlier version of this article misstated Arthur Engoron’s title. He is a justice on the New York State Supreme Court, not a judge.

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