News
PM directs immediate drafting of bill on ADR
APP
ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday directed for immediate drafting of bill on Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) to be circulated and debated through provincial and national conferences, political parties, civil society and legal fraternity.
The prime minister also agreed in principle to request the National Assembly speaker to constitute a parliamentary committee for developing consensus on this legislation. He was chairing a meeting here at the Prime Minister's House on the problems being faced by a common man due to absence of a potent and meaningful system of ADR and the problems caused due to low rate of conviction.
Nawaz stated that ADR complements the existing judicial system and helps the judiciary to focus on non-compoundable and other serious offences. He stressed the need to bring reforms in the system of ADR in order to bring down the losses incurred by the common litigants and to reduce burden on the courts. He also stressed the need to speed up the settlement of disputes.
The prime minster emphasized that there was a need to scale up the use of technology in the process of investigation and prosecution to ensure fast tracking of the entire system. He directed that there must be a coherent and efficacious system of ADR, capable of resolving the issues of common man. The meeting emphasized the need of reforms in ADR mechanism in which litigants are provided with a forum to decide their cases in a cost effective way through mediation.
The prime minister said that people selected from communities and villages on the basis of their competence, wisdom, and good reputation in society will be empowered to participate in the ADR mechanism. "The system based on their participation would yield harmony in the society by settling disputes that the litigants are struggling to resolve for decades," he said. "The Jirga system in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and tribal areas is a case in point that discourages people from indulging in costly litigation and encourages amicable resolution of disputes through collective community action," he added.
The meeting was attended by Minister for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage Pervaiz Rashid, Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Ahsan Iqbal, Special Assistant to Prime Minister Dr. Musadiq Malik and Law Secretary Zafarullah Khan. The prime minister was also briefed about the success rate of ADR both internationally and regionally.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk