BRUSSELS/ISLAMABAD, (Unib Rashid) – The Supreme Court of Pakistan has inaugurated its first Court-Annexed Mediation Centre (CAMC), marking a significant step toward strengthening alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms and reducing the backlog of cases in the country’s courts.

The centre has been established under the European Union-funded Deliver Justice Project, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The initiative aims to promote mediation as an effective means of resolving disputes and improving access to timely and affordable justice.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by members of the judiciary and legal community, development partners and mediators trained under the EU-funded initiative. EU Ambassador to Pakistan Raimundas Karoblis, UNDP Pakistan Officer-in-Charge Van Nguyen, and members of the Supreme Court’s ADR Committee jointly unveiled the inaugural plaque in the presence of Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Yahya Afridi.

Emphasizing the role of mediation in reducing the backlog of cases, Chairman of the Supreme Court’s ADR Committee, Justice Shahid Waheed, described the establishment of the centre as a milestone in the Supreme Court’s ongoing reform process.

He said the judiciary remained committed to strengthening multiple avenues for access to justice, adding that the initiative was important not only for reducing pressure on courts but also for providing faster relief to people seeking justice.

Under the EU-supported initiative, UNDP has partnered with the Singapore International Mediation Centre and the Federal Judicial Academy to train 72 judges from across Pakistan in accredited mediation processes.

The initiative has also supported the establishment of seven CAMCs in collaboration with the Balochistan High Court, while more than 2,800 people across the province, over half of them women, have received legal awareness on mediation as an alternative means of resolving disputes.

Speaking at the ceremony, EU Ambassador Raimundas Karoblis said the inauguration represented a strong symbol of a changing judicial culture, in which mediation was being elevated from an optional or supplementary mechanism to a recognized and central pillar of the justice system.

He said the European Union was proud to support this cultural shift toward cooperation, problem-solving and settlement rather than prolonged adversarial disputes.

The EU Ambassador added that the initiative reflected the core objective of the EU-funded project — “Deliver Justice.”

To assess the effectiveness of the mediation centres, UNDP conducted a study across five districts of Balochistan during 2024 and 2025. The assessment found settlement rates ranging from 70 to 90 percent, with almost none of the cases returning to court after agreements were reached.

The study further found that most disputes were resolved within two to four weeks, compared with months or even years that conventional litigation can take. In some districts, referring cases for mediation contributed to a 30 percent reduction in the backlog of cases in family courts.

People who used the mediation centres also described the process as faster and fairer, according to the assessment.

Thanking the European Union and the Supreme Court of Pakistan for their longstanding partnership, UNDP Pakistan Officer-in-Charge Van Nguyen said expanding the reach of mediation centres to the Supreme Court reflected a shared commitment to building a justice system that people associate with accessible and timely redress.

She expressed hope that the new centre would encourage wider use of mediation and help promote faster, more affordable and people-centred justice across Pakistan.