Use of Technology in Courts (E-Courts): Legal, Practical, and Constitutional Issues in Digitizing the Justice System in Pakistan

Abstract

The justice system of Pakistan has reached a conclusion stage of computerization. E-filing portals, case information on-line and video-link hearings are not some experimental concepts anymore, but they are being codified in the procedures and do play a role in real disputes. However, the same fact continues to reoccur: technology gives access to some litigants and silently leaves out others, and can accelerate some steps and introduce new delays to others. The present paper contends that Pakistan already has relevant statutory and doctrinal permission of e-courts, in the form of legal status of electronic records and signatures, accommodation of new devices of evidence by the judge, and such doctrines in theory as do legitimize virtual attendance. Implementation is the difficult issue. The disparity in infrastructure, high level of digital divide, poor data governance, fragmented court system, change resistance within legal culture, and constitutional trepidation of fair trial, open justice, privacy, and equality are some of the causes that form the enforcement gap. In the paper, the first push towards e-justice and the post-pandemic normalization of remote proceedings are framed. It subsequently grounds the debate on Islamic legal-ethical premises that are sympathetic to credible record-keeping, elimination of distress, and timely justice, but which demand due process and decency. It then examines the Pakistani legal system, particularly the Electronic Transactions Ordinance 2002, the Qanun-e-Shahadat Order 1984, and the Supreme Court Rules 2025; and the best judicial reasoning on video-link evidence and the virtual attendance. The last sections chart practical obstacles and constitutional hazard, and suggest reforms to create a rights-sensitive digital judiciary: similar guidelines, user-friendly design, system audits, training, and understandable safeguards against privacy and fair trial.