One of the most significant changes in the administration of justice post covid in Canada and particularly in Ontario has been the efficient use of technology in court proceedings. Today, majority if not all of the civil litigation in Ontario is conducted online; Judges, lawyers and litigants attend ‘online’ courtrooms, through video-conferencing platforms such as Zoom. Pakistani courts did adopt the online system briefly in response to covid, however, we have by and large reverted back to the in-person system of litigation, which, respectfully, was a grave injustice to all sides, due to the following factors.

Every litigation lawyer in Pakistan is familiar with the sheer frustration of attending courthouse early morning at 9 am and waiting hours for their case to be heard, only for the matter to be adjourned for lack of time due to the long cause list.  Similarly, some litigants travel from another city or district just to attend his/her case hearing. When finally his case is called, he discovers that the opposing counsel is seeking an adjournment due to unavailability, sickness or another (valid) reason. Judges normally grant such adjournments, however, imagine the state of the poor litigant who may have paid for transportation, accommodation, meals, loss of wages and, in many cases, the cost of accompanying family members or representatives just for that single hearing. His/her trust and respect for our legal system would surely have been tarnished.

The irony is that in many such hearings, there is no........

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