Justice Delayed is Justice Denied: Reflections of Lawyers and Media Persons to Improve the Legal System

Abstract

The access to justice is a serious issue in the developing countries. It is worse, if we talk about Pakistan. The purpose of the study is to investigate different reasons for delay in court trials and access to justice in Pakistani courts. This qualitative study was conducted through structured interviews of law practitioners and media personnel working in Lahore, the capital of the largest populated Punjab province of the country. The data comprising five different themes was analysed using the technique of thematic analysis. The study results revealed that there were seven reasons of delayed justice; including lawyers’ strikes and non-professional behaviour, long procedure, unavailability of petitioners and respondents, carelessness of court staff, less number of judges, frequent transfers of judges and shortage of courts. Talking about solutions, the participants suggested that the Supreme Judicial Council should come up with specific laws for lower courts. The use of information technology can be one of the best option as it can help establish electronic courts (E courts) which can be very helpful for case hearings from distance (distance hearing). The traditional and social media can play role by spreading awareness to stress upon the need of speedy justice.