Tribal Jirga A Parallel Judicial System By Aziz Sanghur
- 8 years ago
Tribal Jirga: A Parallel Judicial System is a short documentary, produced, directed and written by Aziz Sanghur. Mr. Sanghur is a documentary film-maker from Pakistan. The documentary shows that a jrga is a tribal assembly of elders which takes decisions by consensus, particularly among the Pashtun, Sindh, Baloch, Punjabi people. Tribal area of Pakistan is a state within a state. Civil society organizations and democratic political parties need to be strengthened to counter the prevalent power structures.
Our judicial system has lost credibility in the eyes of the common people due to inefficiency of the courts and corruption within the legal system. People turn to jirgas for lack of a better alternative. Practical steps are necessary to end the jirga system.
The attitude of the state towards the tribal justice system has been by and large supportive of the jirga system. The state does not as a rule take action when jirga decisions lead to the killing of women for an alleged breach of the 'honour' code or the handing over of women and children to 'settle' disputes. Decisions of sardars which lead to the infliction of severe physical harm are not usually criminally prosecuted by the state. The state in Pakistan has in fact sometimes sought to make use of the system. Many tribal leaders in Pakistan are themselves parliamentarians, members of the civil administration or have family links with the administration. In their official capacities, they speak the language of good governance, of the separation of powers which entails the respect for the independence of the judiciary and of human rights but in their constituencies they preside over tribal courts. State officials have also sought the assistance of tribal leaders to solve criminal cases pending in court stating that this was in the interest of restoring law and order among the tribes of Pakistan. The widespread recourse to tribal justice even by state officials must be seen against the background of the official justice system of Pakistan which over time has become inefficient, slow, expensive, is remote from people's understanding and, as currently operated, not always capable of delivering justice. A high percentage of the population of Pakistan is illiterate or with little schooling or learning, making them ill-equipped to approach the official judicial system in case of any injustice experienced. Many do not understand the law, its procedures and the system that administers it, nor are they aware of the ways to access legal aid. Complaints need to be filed with police who, after investigating the complaint, submit their reports to magistrates who then decide if there is enough evidence to commence criminal prosecution. Long years of abuse of power by police - who are under-paid, under-equipped and under-trained - as well as political interference in the working of the police by successive governments have undermined popular trust in this institution: ordinary people fear the police. Corruption and nepotism add another layer to the popular distrust of the police. With the access to the criminal justice system being a major hurdle, many people forgo criminal prosecution through the official system.
Our judicial system has lost credibility in the eyes of the common people due to inefficiency of the courts and corruption within the legal system. People turn to jirgas for lack of a better alternative. Practical steps are necessary to end the jirga system.
The attitude of the state towards the tribal justice system has been by and large supportive of the jirga system. The state does not as a rule take action when jirga decisions lead to the killing of women for an alleged breach of the 'honour' code or the handing over of women and children to 'settle' disputes. Decisions of sardars which lead to the infliction of severe physical harm are not usually criminally prosecuted by the state. The state in Pakistan has in fact sometimes sought to make use of the system. Many tribal leaders in Pakistan are themselves parliamentarians, members of the civil administration or have family links with the administration. In their official capacities, they speak the language of good governance, of the separation of powers which entails the respect for the independence of the judiciary and of human rights but in their constituencies they preside over tribal courts. State officials have also sought the assistance of tribal leaders to solve criminal cases pending in court stating that this was in the interest of restoring law and order among the tribes of Pakistan. The widespread recourse to tribal justice even by state officials must be seen against the background of the official justice system of Pakistan which over time has become inefficient, slow, expensive, is remote from people's understanding and, as currently operated, not always capable of delivering justice. A high percentage of the population of Pakistan is illiterate or with little schooling or learning, making them ill-equipped to approach the official judicial system in case of any injustice experienced. Many do not understand the law, its procedures and the system that administers it, nor are they aware of the ways to access legal aid. Complaints need to be filed with police who, after investigating the complaint, submit their reports to magistrates who then decide if there is enough evidence to commence criminal prosecution. Long years of abuse of power by police - who are under-paid, under-equipped and under-trained - as well as political interference in the working of the police by successive governments have undermined popular trust in this institution: ordinary people fear the police. Corruption and nepotism add another layer to the popular distrust of the police. With the access to the criminal justice system being a major hurdle, many people forgo criminal prosecution through the official system.