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" 305 CAN AWARD OF COSTS BE USED AS A TOOL FOR ADMINISTRATION TO JUSTICE Barrister Ahmed Uzair, Lahore   Published in: All Pakistan Legal Decisions Year of Publication: 2011 Suggested Citation: 2011 PLD Journal Section p.90 The National Judicial Policy 2009 of the National Judicial (Policy Making) Committee calls for cooperation among stakeholders to address 'backlog" and "delays" in our system of justice. All courts, from the Magistrate Courts to the Supreme Court, are overwhelmed by this backlog of cases, caused, primarily, by delay in dispute resolution. Efforts are being made at the policy level to identify ways to improve the administration of justice.1 The subject of this paper is that courts can use the award of costs as a method of effective administration of justice. One of the modes, which can result in speedier trials and bring about a reduction in backlog of cases, is award of costs mechanism. In order to achieve this objective, there is a need of change in law, in particular the High Court Rules. That being said, however, we can only achieve these goals if there is a change in mindset of the stakeholders(i.e. litigants, lawyers and the judiciary) on award of costs. Specifically, it is suggested that as a general rule costs should follow the event i.e. the successful party should recover its cost of pursuing the litigation. 1. DEFINITION The term "Costs" as is being used in this paper refers to the burden imposed on the losing side in a litigation to compensate the winning side for its expenditure. They are separate from and in addition to any award of damages or other order for the payment of money, but the order of costs would form part of the judgment. 2. CURRENT POSITION: THE LAW Section 35 of the Code of Civil Procedure,…