Pakistan Criminal Justice Case Management System procurement, implementation and training

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Overview: The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs of the U.S. Department of State announces an open competition for organizations to submit applications to carry out a project to: procure, develop, institute training for and implement a criminal case management system in Pakistan. This project will reduce the unnecessarily high number of people in pre-trial detention and reduce the unnecessarily long duration of the pre-trial detentions. Decreasing the number of pre-trial detainees and the duration of pre-trial detention overall will significantly improve the justice system in Pakistan. Additionally, this will enhance the confidence of the people of Pakistan in its criminal justice system thereby contributing to more stability and good governance. The specific objectives are: to increase the accuracy and timeliness of records of persons detailed by law enforcement; to decrease the number of individuals held in pre-trial detention; and to reduce the duration of detention of an individual in accordance with Pakistani Criminal justice Procedure. To ensure the effectiveness of any case management system that is procured and developed, training and mentoring for that system will be essential. A sequenced approach involving a pilot project with later deployment to other regions of Pakistan would be ideal to foster confidence and acceptance of the case management system. The project should ensure inclusion of police, corrections, court personnel, prosecutors, legal aid personnel and other legal professionals that would be necessary for any case management system to function successfully. Priority Region/Countries: Pakistan Problem Statement: Lack of confidence in the Courts and legal system is generated inter alia by the challenges faced by the Court record keeping and processing. Detentions are extended beyond constitutional limits, civil cases are extended for years and citizens attempting to navigate the Court process creates high levels of frustration. These challenges lead to a general reduction of confidence in the legal system in general and the Courts in particular. Project Vision: The program will contribute to reducing detentions to within constitutional limits, cases will be processed in compliance with the codes of procedure and records and documents will be more reliable and readily available for both legal professionals and ordinary citizens. Program results would contribute to general increase in perception of capability and fairness of Courts. Project goals and objectives: The goal of this program is the strengthened capacity of Pakistan’s justice institutions to adequately process criminal justice cases in order to reduce the number and duration of individuals in pre-trial detention. INL seeks to support our Pakistani government partners through a pilot project to procure, develop, train and mentor and implement a case management system training to strengthen the justice sector and public confidence in the rule of law.

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