Islamabad: The Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice convened a meeting under the chairmanship of Senator Farooq Hamid Naek at Parliament House to evaluate the functioning of Special Courts and Tribunals and review amendments to the Juvenile Justice System. The committee focused on the status of vacant courts and tribunals, pending cases, and the need for restructuring to optimize judicial efficiency.
According to Senate of Pakistan, the committee received an extensive briefing from the Ministry of Law and Justice on the current administration of Special Courts and Tribunals. The discussion included the number of unfilled positions for Presiding Officers, reasons for these vacancies, and the current backlog of cases. The committee issued directives to reduce the number of accountability courts nationwide, aligning the number of courts with the volume of pending cases to optimize resources and judicial efficiency.
Senator Zamir Hussain Ghumro raised questions about the constitutional status of federal narcotics courts following the 18th Amendment, suggesting that these courts should be provincial rather than federal. The committee instructed the Ministry of Law and Justice to provide a detailed analysis of this issue in a future meeting.
The committee also examined “The Juvenile Justice System (Amendment) Bill, 2026,” introduced by Senator Sarmad Ali. The Ministry of Law and Justice presented its objections to specific clauses of the bill, and the chairman deferred further discussion until a future session. Other legislative matters, including the Family Courts (Amendment) Bill, 2026, and The Pakistan Psychological Council Bill, 2025, were postponed due to the absence of their respective sponsors.
Additionally, the committee reviewed the salaries and allowances of law officers, granting a two-week period for the Ministry to finalize the process of aligning these with the committee’s prior directions. The meeting was attended by several senators, the Minister for Law and Justice, and other senior officials.