According to the findings of the World Justice Project, Pakistan ranks at Number 106 out of 113 countries. These findings were released at a seminar conducted on Friday by the World Justice Project at Islamabad Club on the topic of Rule of Law in Pakistan.
The World Justice Project is a US based think tank which conducts scientific surveys on the topic of rule of law and access to justice in 113 countries of the world. Those interviewed in this survey include a mixture of lay people and lawyers drawn randomly from major cities of the world. The survey, which was conducted in Pakistan in collaboration with Gallup Pakistan, reveals that our justice system is in seriously bad shape. The country overall ranking is at number 106, which is not only low by global comparison but also lower than our South Asian neighbours and other low-income countries. These findings were released at a seminar in Islamabad attended by a large number of lawyers and justice sector researchers, said a press release.
The survey also shows that very few Pakistan choose to take their disputes to court. When asked, around 40% of the respondents said that they had experienced a serious dispute in the last 12 months. However, most chose to do nothing about it. Amongst the minority that did pursue some remedy, most chose to take their dispute to a traditional, customary or local leader for resolution. Among the few who resorted to a state institution, most went to the police. Only a tiny fraction of all disputes went to courts. The irony is that the state-supported court system seems to be failing in handling even the small fractions of disputes that do come to it for resolution.
Speaking at the occasion via videolink, Dr Alexandro Ponce, Chief Research Officer of WJP pointed out the silver linings in the survey's findings. "Pakistanis," he said "seem have a high degree of trust in fellow citizens. Crime rates are lower than many other countries. And while trust in the court system is low by global comparison, it is still more that the trust people have in the police."
A senior Supreme Court lawyer and Additional Attorney General for Pakistan, Mr. Afnan Karim Kundi also spoke on the occasion.
He opined that while the situation at present is grim, reform is possible. He called for a re-structuring of the Bar Councils in order to ensure stricter regulation of legal education and legal practice.
Other speakers at the seminar included eminent social scientists Dr Ijaz Shafi Gilani and Bilal Gilani and Advocates Yasser Latif Hamdani, Hadiya Aziz and Oves Anwar.-PR
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