Islamabad : The federal cabinet has endorsed broad reforms on the Criminal Procedure Code (CRPC) of 1898 for debate and legislation in the Parliament. The government of Pakistan revealed these reforms through the Ministry of Law and Justice as one of the important ventures to put the country’s judicial system on the contemporary status.
As stated in the official announcement, these changes were introduced by the Minister for Law as part of the systematic attempts to address the issue of obsolescence of the judicial architecture. The reforms are based on long consultations with bar councils, well-known lawyers, prosecutors, and judges.
Some important clauses are addition of an electronic system for registering FIR’s. Further, the amendments suggest that arrest of females should only be carried by female officers in order to make the process less harsh and legal. The reforms also use other technologically advanced methods like audio and video in investigations to improve on the evidence that is generated.
Under the new amendments, the prosecutor will be in a position to indicate some defects in a police report and even stop the prosecution of a case because it lacks sufficient evidence. The Ministry also pointed out that the reforms provide time-bound trials and appeals, thus seeking to speed up the pace of resolutions, and decrease the number of heaps on the judicial system, as well as ensure the timely delivery of justice.
These changes aim to facilitate proceedings, raise the level of disclosure and increase the efficiency of investigation teams’ work. They are all aimed at the improvement of criminal justice system of Pakistan and building up people’s confidence in legal procedures.