ISLAMABAD: The National Judicial (Policy Making) Committee (NJPMC) decided that all constitutional petitions pertaining to tax and financial matters shall be heard and decided by division benches of the High Courts instead of a single bench.
It also reaffirmed its commitment to a progressive, transparent and responsive judicial system, rooted in constitutional values and guided by the rule of law.
The 53rd NJPMC meeting was held on Friday at the Supreme Court of Pakistan under the chairmanship of Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi. It was attended by the chief justices of all the High Courts, while additional attorney general for Pakistan attended on special invitation.
Separate benches formed for early disposal of tax cases: CJP
The committee deliberated on key policy issues and adopted several significant measures to improve judicial performance, technology integration in judicial processes and citizen-centric justice delivery.
The NJPMC took serious notice of the enforced disappearances and unanimously, resolved that the judiciary would not compromise on its constitutional duty to safeguard fundamental rights. A dedicated committee was constituted to formulate an institutional response, after taking into consideration concerns of the Executive, to be communicated through the attorney general for Pakistan.
The committee also decided to protect judicial officers from external influence and asked the High Courts to establish structured mechanisms for reporting and redressal of such instances within a stipulated timeframe.
To improve the commercial dispute resolution landscape, the NJPMC approved the establishment of Commercial Litigation Corridor, with specialised courts and benches. In line with its commitment to expeditious justice, the committee endorsed the piloting of a Double-Docket Court Regime in select districts on need basis with optional participation.
The framework for Model Criminal Trial Courts was also approved to address long-pending criminal cases through time-bound trials and optimised judicial resources.
In a major step towards strengthening Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), the committee approved launch of a court-annexed mediation regime as a pilot project. This includes the establishment of district mediation facilities, family court mediation centres and standardised SOPs for operational purposes.
To ensure consistency and excellence in the district judiciary, the NJPMC constituted a committee headed by former Justice Rehmat Hussain Jafferi, former judge Supreme Court of Pakistan comprising chief justice, High Court of Balochistan, the registrars of High Courts and director general Federal Judicial Academy to recommend key performance indicators aligned with international benchmarks, standardised recruitment and training mechanisms, address disparities in service conditions and propose a framework for the District Judiciary Policy Forum as well as overseas exposure opportunities for judges.
The committee also approved the development of a Professional Excellence Index for talent hunt of lawyers for induction in judiciary and asked the High Courts to finalise their models within 30 days.
The ethical and policy implications of using generative AI in judicial functions were discussed, and the National Judicial Automation Committee (NJAC) was asked to finalise a comprehensive charter on ethical use of AI in this regard.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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