Pakistan Chief Justice announces judicial reforms and evening court sessions

Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi has announced a series of structural reforms aimed at accelerating judicial processes and increasing transparency within the Supreme Court. To address the significant backlog of pending cases, the judiciary will implement evening court benches specifically to hear matters seeking early hearings.

As part of a broader institutional reform agenda, the Chief Justice highlighted a shift toward digital transformation. This includes the digitisation and barcoding of cases, electronic transmission of judgments, e-filing, and the development of a National Standardised E-Filing Framework to ensure consistency across the Supreme Court, High Courts, and District Judiciary. The goal is to move toward an integrated digital justice architecture supported by robust cybersecurity.

To improve accountability, the case-fixing policy has been moved online, and the Chief Justice stated that no cases will be fixed via his personal direction. Additionally, a quality-control measure has been introduced where two officers recheck the cause list before proceedings. Regarding judicial leave, Afridi addressed public perception by stating that judges typically take only one month of leave during a three-month period, rather than the three months often cited in popular narratives.