The National Judicial Policy Committee (NJPC), chaired by Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi, on Saturday decided to introduce a robust institutional response to enforced disappearance cases and a new mechanism for instances where arrested suspects are not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours.

The decisions were taken at the committee’s 56th meeting, attended by the chief justices of all high courts and Chief Justice of the Federal Constitutional Court Aminuddin Khan, according to an official statement.

The committee agreed to implement a Commercial Litigation Corridor to fast-track commercial disputes and directed strict enforcement of prescribed timelines for case disposal. It also approved the preparation of national guidelines for the use of artificial intelligence in courts.

The NJPC lauded the Lahore High Court for disposing of more than 465,000 cases and praised the Peshawar High Court’s system for handling inheritance matters. It approved the immediate rollout of e-filing across all district courts.

The committee directed that all pending inheritance cases up to 2019 be decided within 30 days. It also decided to consult provincial governments on jail reforms.

Separately, the committee approved the formation of a screening committee at the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and agreed to eliminate unnecessary FBR litigation, the statement said.