The Future of Judicial Reform in Pakistan: Digitalization, AI and Access to Justice

Abstract

The Pakistani courts have over two million pending cases, hundreds of district courts which lack judges and a populace where the justice process remains a paper, travel and delay affair. The judiciary transitioned from the small-scale automation projects to a nationwide reform programme between 2025 and 2026, with Supreme Court Rules mandating the use of electronic files, a partnership between the Law and Justice Commission and the National Information Technology Board, a National Judicial Analytics Dashboard, an Honorable Federal Constitutional Court pilot on paperless files, and National Guidelines, approved by the NJPMC in February, 2026 on the use of artificial intelligence in judicial institutions. A major field experiment involving over 1,500 trial judges revealed that a locally-developed research instrument, coupled with targeted training, increased case disposal while not impacting the quality of the performance. This article discusses these developments in the light of the constitutional guarantee of fair trial under Article 10A, literature on digital justice and legal technology, feasibility constraints of connectivity, literacy, data protection and integrity of the automation system. It contends that the digitalization and AI can only enhance access to justice when it is seen as public infrastructure and not as gadgets, when the ultimate decision-making power lies with humans and not with AI, and when it extends beyond the Hon’ble Superior Courts to the district courts and unrepresented litigant.

Keywords: Judicial Reform, Digital Courts, E-Filing, Artificial Intelligence, Access to Justice, Pakistan, Case Backlog, JudgeGPT, National Judicial Policy Making Committee.