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Mediation and the Future of Justice in Pakistan: Can a Dispute Be Resolved Before It Becomes a Case?

Mediation and the Future of Justice in Pakistan: Can a Dispute Be Resolved Before It Becomes a Case?

For many Pakistanis, seeking justice traditionally means entering a courtroom, engaging a lawyer, and embarking upon legal proceedings that may continue for years, sometimes decades. Disputes that could potentially be resolved through dialogue often develop into prolonged adversarial contests involving repeated hearings, escalating costs, and procedural delays. This raises a fundamental question: must every dispute ultimately be decided by a judge, or can justice sometimes be achieved without a judgment?

Pakistan’s growing judicial backlog makes this question particularly important. According to the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan, approximately 2.19 million cases were pending before the High Courts and District Judiciary as of 31 December 2025, including approximately 1.90 million before the District Judiciary. Since district courts constitute the primary point of contact between ordinary citizens and the justice system, this backlog demonstrates the need to reconsider the conventional approach of resolving every dispute through adjudication.

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), particularly mediation, offers another pathway towards justice. It does not undermine the constitutional authority of courts; rather, it provides an opportunity to resolve suitable disputes through dialogue, negotiation, and consensus, leaving judicial adjudication available for matters requiring authoritative determination.

From Adjudication to Resolution: The momentum behind this approach became particularly visible in 2026 with the establishment of the Supreme Court of Pakistan’s first Court-Annexed Mediation Centre, inaugurated on 18 August in collaboration with the European Union and the United Nations Development Programme. The Centre seeks to provide a structured mechanism through which appropriate disputes can be referred to mediation, allowing parties to participate directly in determining their outcomes.

This development reflects an important transformation in the philosophy of justice. A justice system should not be evaluated exclusively by the number of judgments it delivers, but also by its ability to resolve disputes fairly, efficiently, affordably, and within a reasonable time. The ultimate objective is not the production of judgments; it is the meaningful resolution of disputes.

What Does a Mediator Actually Do? Unlike litigation, where a judge examines competing claims and delivers a binding decision, mediation does not involve the imposition of a verdict. A mediator facilitates communication, identifies areas of disagreement, clarifies the parties’ interests, and assists them in negotiating a mutually........

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