APPRAISAL OF INFORMAL JUSTICE MECHANISM IN PAKISTAN: CASE STUDY OF DISPUTE RESOLUTION COUNCILS IN THE DISTRICT CHARSADDA AND DISTRICT NOWSHERA, KHYBER PAKHTUNKHAWA

Abstract

This study is aimed at to appraise the effectiveness and working of informal justice mechanism in the two districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Therefore, an effort is made to study the working of Dispute Resolution Councils (DRCs) in the District Nowshera and the District Charsadda as an alternate justice system. The main aim of the study is to asses and checks the intervention level of informal structure of DRCs and it also identifies areas for improvement in access to justice and gaps in the justice delivery. By using Restorative Justice Theory, it argues that informal justice mechanisms in traditional societies repair, restore, reconcile, and reintegrate the offenders and victims to each other and to their shared community.