Abstract:
The study analysis the effects Incorporation of Mandatory Pre-trial Mediation on Civil Justice System of Pakistan and explores whether its incorporation will reduce the case backlogs and delays in the resolution of disputes. As Mandatory pre-trail mediation is not previously enforced in Pakistan, it also attempts to suggest the Mandatory Pre-trial Mediation system of a New Victoria, State of Australia which is most suitable to Pakistan’s legal systems due to similar backlog of cases after it inherited similar legal and judicial system after British colonialism. This is Socio-legal research. It involves descriptive, critical and qualitative analysis. Primary qualitative data is collected through statues and open-ended unstructured interviews from judges, lawyers and litigants from a city of each province of Pakistan and federal capital while secondary data was gathered by analyzing legal books, websites and journals. This study reveals that Incorporation of Mandatory Pre-trial Mediation on Civil Justice System of Pakistan will not only result in Reduction in Case Backlog but will also decrease the time for resolution of disputes. However, this can only be achieved by incorporating the mandatory mediation in all tiers of courts in Pakistan, Training and Accreditation of mediators, Legal Framework and Policy Development, Infrastructure and Resource Allocation, Adaptation of mediation in accordance to Local Context, Public Awareness and Education, Ensuring Voluntariness, Public Awareness and Education, Monitoring and Evaluation. If proper check and balances are not placed while its incorporation and all necessary measures are not taken in this regard it can result in unintended consequences like Power Imbalances, Delays in Justice, Increased Costs and Coercion on parties to settle thus defeating the essence of justice.
