An Analytical Study of Criminal Justice System of Pakistan (with special reference to the Province of Punjab)

The criminal justice system that Pakistan adopted in 1947 was tailor-made by the British colonial rulers that fits their needs and suits their colonial designs. The Pakistan Penal Code, 1860 and other laws creating offences and fixing punishments (substantive criminal law), the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 and other adjective laws including the law of evidence are classical examples of the British legacy. The march of civilization has loaded society with multiple complexities. Twenty-first century society is markedly by different from nineteenth century society. Technology, information explosion, rapid socio-economic cum-scientific changes have made the social and cultural norms at once multi-layered. This has rendered P.P.C. and Cr.P.C. inadequate, occasionally outdated and in many cases redundant. The change became imperative. President General Zia got promulgated Qisas and Diyat and Hadood Laws in 1979 and the Qanun-e-Shahadat Order in1984. This was a half-hearted effort. The inadequacies of P.P.C. and Cr.P.C. are more than to meet the procedural practices of day to day need. Though the Code of Criminal Procedure,1898, is the principal criminal procedural law of Pakistan yet we find some provisions relating to criminal safeguards provided to the accused in our Constitution of 1973 in the form of different articles such as right to life and liberty (Article 9), safeguard as to arrest and detention (Art. 10), protection against retrospective punishment (Art. 12), protection against double jeopardy and self-incrimination (Art. 13). Now after the 18th Amendment, a new Art. 10-A has been inserted to ensure fair trial. In spite of all that some radical changes are required for the overhauling of the existing criminal justice system of Pakistan. The purpose of this paper is to point out the main lacunas or shortcomings of our criminal justice system and provide viable recommendations to the legal fraternity so that necessary steps may be taken for its improvement.