ISLAMABAD  -  The 54th meeting of the National Judicial (Policy Making) Committee (NJPMC) was Monday convened at the Supreme Court of Pakistan under the chairmanship of the Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi.

The meeting was attended by the Chief Justices of all the High Courts, while the Attorney General for Pakistan attended on special invitation. The committee deliberated on key policy issues, while reviewing implementation status of the decisions taken in its 53rd meeting.  The committee unanimously reiterated its resolve to strengthen institutional capacity, accelerate access to justice, and ensure efficient and effective justice delivery.

The NJPMC unanimously reiterated the need for a comprehensive mechanism for ensuring production of any detained person before the Magistrate within 24 hours. The Attorney General for Pakistan ensured that such a mechanism would be developed and placed before the committee in its next meeting. The forum appreciated the efforts and the assurance by the Attorney General for Pakistan in this regard.

The committee commended the High Courts for formulating Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) but emphasized the inclusion of stage-wise timelines from complaint filing to final action.  

It was decided that all such instances of extraneous influence shall be reported within 24 hours and action thereon shall be finalised within 14 days. The SOPs should also provide for immediate redressal measures to safeguard the dignity of the complainant Judge. Additionally, a reporting mechanism to the Chief Justice of Pakistan was desired for information and intervention, where necessary. The High Courts shall notify the SOPs and share the same with LJCP.  

The committee appreciated the substantial progress achieved by the High Courts, acknowledging the CLC initiative as a major step toward fostering a robust and efficient commercial litigation framework.  

In order to address the issue of protracted litigation and injunctive orders in cases of commercial, revenue and fiscal nature, a committee under the chairmanship of Justice Shafi Siddiqui, Judge, Supreme Court of Pakistan, was constituted for formulating recommendations. Other members of the committee include Justice Abid Aziz Sheikh, Lahore High Court, Justice Agha Faisal, High Court of Sindh, Justice Arshad Ali, Peshawar High Court, Attorney General for Pakistan and chairman, Federal Board of Revenue.

The committee shall also examine the suggestion of the Attorney General for Pakistan in respect of issues arising out of Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards and place its recommendations in the next meeting.

While acknowledging the commendable efforts made by the High Courts, the committee prescribed uniform timelines for the disposal of various categories of cases. The forum, as such, approved the timelines ie Declaratory Suit (Land Disputes) in 24 months, Declaratory Suit (Inheritance Disputes) 12 months, Injunction Suit (Land Disputes) six months, Recovery Suit (Public Revenue/Money Matters) 12 months, Specific Performance (Contract Enforcement) 18 months, Rent Cases six months, Family Suit (Dissolution/Dower/Maintenance/Guardianship) six months, Succession Cases (Uncontested) two months, Execution Petitions/Family Court Decree six months, Execution Petitions/Banking Court Decree 12 months, Execution Petitions/Civil Court Decree 12 months, Execution Petitions/Rent Matters three months, Criminal Trial (Juvenile Offenders-JJSA, 2018 six months, Criminal Trial (Punishment up to seven years in 12 months, Criminal Trial (Punishment above seven years) in 18 months, Criminal Trial (Murder) 24 months, Labour cases in six months.

These timelines would be considered as one of the Key Performance Indicators in Judges Performance Evaluation and would be in-built at the Dashboard.

The committee, expressed its deep appreciation for the progress made by the High Court of Sindh and the Peshawar High Courts, noting that these efforts would significantly contribute to enhancing access to justice and ensure its effective and timely delivery. It was further observed that such initiatives reflect strong institutional commitment to continuous improvement for making justice system citizen-centric.

The committee acknowledged the progress made by the High Courts and underscored the importance of pre-trial mediation. The Attorney General for Pakistan assured that the forum would be updated about the progress on legislative intervention at Federal and Provincial levels about mandatory pre-trial mediation in the next meeting.  

Agenda items concerning performance evaluation, standardized recruitment, establishment of a District Judiciary Policy Forum (DJPF), parity in terms and conditions of service, and access to international exposure opportunities were taken jointly. The NJPMC unanimously decided to include the Chief Justice, Lahore High Court in the Committee formulating recommendations on these matters, to be finalized before the next meeting.

The committee expressed satisfaction with progress on the Professional Excellence Index, recognizing it as a vital instrument for promoting professional standards and strengthening justice system effectiveness.

After deliberation, the forum desired the High Courts to establish an accessible, user-friendly public forum at both the High Courts and District Courts level for provision of information and complaint redressal.  

The forum, while appreciating the efforts made by the Lahore High Court, decided that the High Courts may pilot the initiative for oldest civil cases in chronological order. The High Courts may determine the number of Model Civil Courts in each district keeping in view the number of target cases. The District and Session Judges may assign such case to Model Civil Courts under a time bound trial regime.

The Committee deliberated on jail reforms and resolved to share the reports of Provincial Sub-Committees and the Prison Reform Action Plan with the High Courts for input. A National Prison Policy will be formulated and placed before the next meeting.

The forum was further sensitized to the following key issues, with a view to fostering greater awareness and promoting coordinated efforts to address them effectively. i) Suspension of sentence pending appeal under Section 426 CrPC; ii) Repatriation of Judicial Officers of Special Courts and Tribunals.

The Attorney General for Pakistan assured that the matter of delay in repatriation of Judicial Officers posted in Special Courts and Tribunals would be looked into pragmatically.  

Additionally, the Attorney General for Pakistan committed that the High Courts would be facilitated for posting of Audit Officers in coordination with Accountants General of the Provinces for carrying out internal audit.

The committee further decided that in cases under Control of Narcotic Substances Act, 1997 including the relevant Provincial Laws where appeals are to be heard by Division Benches, the bail Application/Petitions in all such cases will also be heard by the Division Bench.

The Chief Justice Lahore High Court assured that the condition of biometric verification at the time of institution of cases would be implemented and progress will be placed before the committee in the next meeting.  

The committee unanimously resolved that the forum, as a matter of principle, would schedule every next meeting. As such the next meeting was scheduled for October 17, 2025.