Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi stated on Monday that the Supreme Court has plans to use artificial intelligence (AI) to categorize cases for fixation, but the judiciary is “not ready” for the technology yet.
He made these remarks at a judicial conference at the apex court, which marked the beginning of the new judicial year.
“We all talk about technology, we all talk about AI to be utilized for enhancing the justice delivery system,” Justice Afridi said, adding that a project to digitally screen 61,000 files will be completed within six months.
He explained, “It is only when you have them digitally scanned that you can utilize the tools of AI for categorization. It will be easy to categorize cases and to fix before one bench one issue.”
The chief justice emphasized, “Yes, technology is necessary. Yes, AI has to be utilized. But no, not now. We are not ready for it. We have to prepare ourselves for that.”
New Policies and Rules
During his speech, Chief Justice Afridi also detailed a number of new policies and standard operating procedures (SOPs) introduced to address the structure of discussions on important issues.
Justice Afridi remarked that previously, the chief justice could take up any case out of order for an early hearing, but SOPs were now in place to prevent that.
Stating that the court was taking up cases on a “first-come, first-served” basis, the top judge clarified that the court would no longer hear cases out of their order.
Judges’ Leave and Judicial Authority
Apparently responding to questions raised in a recent letter from Justice Mansoor Ali Shah regarding the CJP’s powers to grant or refuse judges’ leaves, Justice Afridi said that leaves outside of judicial holidays require permission.
“Let’s look at the grant of leave. I made it very clear, during holidays anyone who wants to go anywhere, no issue. But when there is court work, then I said here is the discretion, discretion is the exercise, it is the criteria, you have got everything in writing.”
Just last month, the SC issued a number of policy decisions, including an amendment to the Supreme Court Judges (Leave, Pension and Privileges) Order 1997, which empowers the CJP to grant or refuse leave, or to revoke or curtail it.
Enforced Disappearances and Judicial Role
Chief Justice Afridi further stated that the National Judicial Policy-Making Committee, which he heads and includes all the chief justices, had given “serious attention” to the issue of enforced disappearances.
He thanked Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan for assuring the judiciary that the government was “seriously considering a mechanism to ensure the production of detained persons.”
Five Principles of Judicial Reforms
Justice Afridi said that after assuming the CJP’s office in October 2024, he felt the need for reforms, which were categorized based on “five principles.”
The CJP listed these principles as: “To improve service delivery through technology, to improve access and transparency, to strengthen legal and regulatory framework, leverage international and external resources, and to revitalize the attached departments.”
He noted that the apex court has eight sections, and each one prioritizes speedy justice. Digital case-filing and case-tracking were among the measures discussed during six interactive meetings held to discuss the SC’s reforms.
