DefinePK

Abstract

The jirgas, panchayats, and the community mediation forums are additional elements of the informal justice system in Pakistan that can be considered as a crucial dispute resolution mechanism in most regions of the country, especially in rural and tribal regions. Although the use of these mechanisms has become quite widespread, their use is technically in a grey area of the legal panorama since they are usually condemned as harsh to human rights norms on the one hand and applauded as accessible and culturally acceptable on the other. In this paper we will conduct an exploration of the history, structure of operations, and implications of sociopolitical issues associated with informal justice in Pakistan. It reviews the correlation between formal and informal justice process, the position of women and the marginal groups and how the state is trying to formalize the process of alternative resolution with the help of the legislature. Exploiting cross-jurisdictional expertise available in the region though South Asian states, the study proposes a rights-based integrative system that constitutes a balance between the cultural applicability of the informal justice and the constitutional requirements of judicial fairness and due process. By analyzing such concerns, the paper aims at bringing its contribution to the current discussions on the topics of legal pluralism, access to justice, and the future of judicial reform in Pakistan.