Criminal Justice Reform – Delayed FIRs and Ineffective Witness Protection Programs

This article focuses on the role of Pakistan’s Criminal Justice System (CJS) with regards to establishing rule of law, with an emphasis on two oft-stated issues – delays in the registration of First Information Reports (FIRs), and poorly implemented witness protection programs. In addition to highlighting the causes and effects of the aforementioned issues, it also sheds light on the apparent failure of recent interventions that were made to mitigate these problems, before concluding with possible suggestions to resolve these issues.

Justice System Response to Crimes Against Women

A society responds to crimes and wrongs in various ways. At an institutional level, it responds through its justice system, which manifests itself through its criminal and civil streams. The countries that accord priority to crimes and wrongs being caused to their citizens undertake serious academic research and then link the research to larger public policy to redress the grievances of their citizens.

Investigating and Prosecuting Foreign Terrorist Fighters under Pakistani Law

The phenomenon of Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTFs) became a significant part of the international discourse in 2012, with the inflow of foreign fighters in Iraq and Syria to join the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria “ISIS” (also known as Islamic State of Iraq and Levant, or Daesh). In response to the threat posed by FTFs, Security Council Resolution 2178 was passed under binding Chapter VII powers, which urged member states to “ensure that their domestic laws and regulations establish serious criminal offences sufficient to provide the ability to prosecute and to penalize in a manner duly reflecting the seriousness of the offense”.

New Money Laundering Threats in the Wake of COVID-19

Although the Covid-19 pandemic has brought the world to a halt, it has concomitantly boosted the criminal economy by creating unprecedented circumstances, easily exploitable by a few. This piece aims to highlight the financial vulnerabilities that have been created due to the Covid-19 pandemic, while briefly discussing the potential safeguards against the exploitation of such vulnerabilities, as suggested by FATF—the global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog.