Justice Jain enlists steps to speed up justice delivery system

Chandigarh, Apr 20 (UNI) Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Justice Vijender Jain today enlisted a number of suggestions like categorisation of cases, quick availability of documents to the litigants and lawyers and unstinted support of the court staff and its registry to speed up the justice delivery system and for effective court management.

Chief Justice Jain said this while inaugurating the first-ever conclave of judicial officers at Panchkula today.

The conclave was attended by the judicial officers from the subordinate judiciary and higher judicial services of Punjab and Haryana, besides the Union Territory of Chandigarh.

He said categorisation of cases raising similar issues particularly the mass litigation cases like land acquisition or income tax cases if dealt in one group would go a long way in effective dealing of cases.

The Chief Justice said good court management practice required that information pertaining to a case was timely and readily made available to the lawyers or litigants. He said there should be no cause for the litigants to complain against non-availability of documents relating to the certified copies of an order or the decree-sheets.

If for some reason, these documents were not available, information could be disseminated through the internet or an interactive voice response (IVR) mechanism, he stressed. The creating of website would enable those who have access to internet to obtain necessary information any time, he suggested.

The Chief Justice said the efficiency of the courts depended upon the court staff and the Registry as they form the backbone of the system. Court management could not succeed without their unstinted support, he said and added that they were responsible not only for all the documentation but also giving effect to miscellaneous orders passed by the Court.

However, he called for strict vigil on them so that any act done by an individual should not tarnish the image of the judiciary as a whole. He said the subordinate judicial officers could perform miscellaneous tasks including identification of issues, attempting to limit disputes arising out of pleadings and by active participation in alternative dispute resolution system.

''This would make them participative functionaries in the overall processing of dispensing quick justice and recognizing their status as one of the stakeholders in the judicial system'', he added.

He said that an essential prerequisite for achieving the goals of reforms was an efficient and transparent legal system. The legal system that enables economic choice, promotes ethical and sound business practices cuts transaction costs and enables healthy commercial dealings through fair contacts was as essential as good infrastructure and sound polity, he said.

Quick settlement of disputes, especially in economic and commercial transactions was necessary for free economy. Economic growth of a country was also dependent on the kind of justice delivery system, he added.

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