Importance and advantage of scientific research coupled with timely, adequate and authentic information for the realization of citizens’ rights cannot be overstated. Dissemination of objective information and scientific research is a vital key to empowerment.

In view of the need for independent research and information on issues and concerns, which have strong bearing on citizens’ rights with respect to both market and governance, the Research and Publications Unit of Consumer Rights Commission of Pakistan (CRCP) undertakes research from multi-disciplinary perspective. It undertakes policy research and surveys in order to have an in-depth understanding of consumer problems and grievances both in the context of public services and markets. This research feeds into other program areas of CRCP including Governance and Legislative Affairs and Advocacy and Awareness.
CRCP believes that its advocacy, lobbying, training and awareness-raising activities and efforts can further be firmed up by publishing the research conducted in various sectors and its utilization by public representatives, legislators, the policy community, government institutions, civil society, and individuals. With this in view, CRCP has undertaken research on a variety of issues and come up with a number of publications ranging from model laws on Consumer Protection and Freedom of Information to training manuals. A brief overview of the publications of CRCP is hereunder:
 

 Consumer Financing in Pakistan: Issues, Chellenages and Way Forward

The banking sector in Pakistan has witnessed unprecedented growth after 2001 because of the excess in the liquidity of banks due to high inflow of remittances, low interest rate and product innovation in consumer financing. To present an objective and fair mapping of public concerns and regulatory weaknesses related to consumer financing in Pakistan, Consumer Rights Commission of Pakistan (CRCP) and The Asia Foundation have jointly launched a research report entitled “Consumer Financing in Pakistan: Issues, Challenges and Way Forward”. The study is one-of-its kind and provides evidence based proposals for designing and implementing strategic and practical interventions to strengthen the regulatory mechanism for strengthening the consumer financing sector in Pakistan.

In addition to desk review, CRCP carried out a survey of borrowers (of 15 banks) of credit cards, personal loans, auto loans and housing mortgage in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, and Karachi. CRCP also conducted survey through physical visits and telephone to collect updated information about various types of charges applicable on credit cards, personal loans, auto loans and housing mortgage. Ten key informant interviews were conducted with bankers, economists, academic experts, journalists, and consumers. Besides, a number of short stories on grievances and experiences of individual borrowers and banking practices were prepared. The report covers the issues of the interest rate spread, variable interest rate, increasing inflationary impact, unsolicited financing, deteriorating quality of services, lack of consumer education, poor information disclosure practices, intimidating recovery practices, loosing competitiveness in international trade, and weaknesses in regulatory framework.

The study also concentrates on issues in consumer awareness on banking terms and conditions, policy, rules and regulations as a critical factor in securing financial rights. Recommendations, associated with interest rates and competition in banking sector, compliance with SBP regulations, transparency and access to information related to consumer financing products and services, consumer education, complaint redress mechanism, bank charges, ATM, and sustainability of consumer financing sector, are also made. The recommendations of the study are expected to attract the civil society organizations and the policy community to take outcome-oriented initiatives for reforms concerning banking regulations and public grievance in the banking sector, in general, and in consumer financing, in particular. Download .*pdf
 
 

Legislative Oversight Toolkit
 

The Legislative Oversight Toolkit comprises a set of nine inter-related and complimentary guides, booklets/monographs and checklists. These are aimed at encouraging and facilitating people and civil society to get involved in the legislative processes and to hold the legislature accountable. The toolkit is based on the belief that overseeing the legislative branch to perform its basic functions namely, citizens’ representation, oversight of the executive and law-making are must for a viable and strong democracy. A legislature that is well-equipped to carry out its functions coupled with a proactive and informed citizenry is certain to provide solid foundations for parliamentary democracy and good governance.

The Legislative Oversight toolkit was produced by Governance and Legislative Affairs Unit of Consumer Rights Commission of Pakistan (CRCP) with the financial assistance of United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under the project titled Strengthening National and Provincial Legislative Governance (SNPLG).              
 
 

The Freedom of Information Ordinance 2002 provides Pakistani citizens and civil society groups an opportunity to ensure greater oversight of governmental functioning and enhancing the transparency and accountability in governance. The stated purpose of the Ordinance is to “provide for transparency and freedom of information to ensure that citizens have improved access to public records and … make the Federal Government more accountable to its citizens”.

CRCP has effectively used the Ordinance to obtain information from several public bodies. This manual contains information on various aspects of the Ordinance and how Pakistani citizens can use it to access information and records held by government bodies as stipulated in the Ordinance Rules notified in June 2004.  Download*.pdf

 
 

This booklet covers the process of law making in Pakistan both at national and provincial levels. The process includes the introduction, publication, consideration and passage of bills.  Legislative list (Federal and Concurrent) as mentioned in fourth schedule and details of sixth schedule, Constitution of Pakistan, is also given in annexure of the booklet.   Download *.pdf

   

This booklet is a mean of having insight in the process of federal budget making. It consists of three parts. The first part deals with the budget development which include budget call circular (BCC), preparation of budget estimates, annual development plan,  resource estimation, revised estimates, revised budget proposals, public participation and submission of budget proposal to the Cabinet. The second part reflects upon the proceedings that take place on the floor of the houses (National Assembly and Senate) while the third part is concerned with budget disbursement. Download *.pdf

   
   

How to Contact Federal and Provincial Representatives

This booklet provides first hand information on how to contact parliamentarians. The rationale behind this information is that democratic governance and effective legislature processes require that citizens engage proactively with legislators to ensure that the rights and interest of citizens are protected. Without such engagement democracy would turn into periodical ritual of casting a ballot. This booklet also contains some important addresses and phone numbers of Senate and National Assembly which can make the parliamentarians easily accessible.  Download *.pdf

 

This bibliography has been developed as a tool for civil society activists, journalists, students and researchers interested in understanding the history and the present state of the legislature and parliamentary democracy in Pakistan. Covering the period from 1947 to 2004, the material selected here focuses on political and constitutional issues and developments that impinged on the state of legislature and parliamentary democracy in the country. These enlisted sources contain lists of books and internet links respectively. It is hoped the bibliography would help stimulate systematic study of the legislative branch of the government and would facilitate constructive political action.   Download *.pdf

 

An appropriate system of checks and balances is considered to be an integral part of democratic setup. Before the elected representatives checked by the citizens, a legislator needs to have self-accountability. This checklist is aimed at providing a through self-investigation of a legislator as a representative, law-maker and above all, as a responsible citizen.  Download *.pdf

   

 
Police Reforms: New Legal Framework and Issues in Implementation

During December 2004 and January 2005, Consumer Rights Commission of Pakistan (CRCP), with the support of Asian Development Bank (ADB), organized 5 multi-stakeholder public forums on “Police Reforms: New Legal Framework and Issues in Implementation” in Islamabad and 4 provincial capitals. Purpose of these forums was to initiate a public dialogue among stakeholders about the design of police reforms as well as the issues in implementation; and to collect ideas and recommendations for the benefit of policy makers. In total, 331 people (280 males and 51 females) from diverse backgrounds participated in the public forums. Methodology for public forums included thematic / expert presentations followed by open discussion sessions.

Various issues related to the legal-cum-political context, design and implementation of police reforms were debated during the public forums. Many panellists and participants, mostly from the opposition political parties and bar councils, pointed to the fact that police reforms were introduced by a military dictator outside the constitutional framework and in violation of provincial autonomy. In their opinion, effective and sustainable reforms could be produced only through a democratic process. Serious concerns were expressed about the key role being played by the Federal Government in police reforms despite the fact that police was a provincial subject under the constitution.

General concerns discussed during the public forums included slow implementation of police reforms and the lack of any visible improvement since the Police Order was promulgated in 2002. Most participants were also highly sceptical about the recent amendments and noted that the same had been introduced without stakeholder consultations and, strangely enough, even before full implementation of the Police Order 2002. Others, however, suggested that these were necessary to address the problems faced during implementation. Download .*pdf
 
Accessing Information under the Freedom of Information Ordinance, 2002

Through the promulgation of the freedom of Information Ordinance, Pakistan became the first country in South Asia to recognize citizens’ right to access information held by public entities. Despite its limitations in terms of a large number of exemptions and a week implementation mechanism, the ordinance provides a legal basis for citizen and citizen groups to assert their right to access information and to engage public entities on improving public services delivery and promote accountability of government department. The ordinance has been in force since October 2002 and outlined procedures to be used by citizens and citizen groups to access information and records held by federal public entities. The Consumer Rights Commission of Pakistan (CRCP) and Centre for Civic Education (CCE) have effectively used the Ordinance to obtain information from several public bodies.

The manual contains information on various aspects of the Freedom of Information Ordinance and how Pakistani citizens can use the Ordinance to access information held by government bodies.
 
   
Social Audit of Public Facilities in Islamabad: Creating Interface between Citizens, Line Departments and Public Representatives
2003, 43pp, Rs. 100.

Provision of basic public facilities and infrastructure is central to social development. Availability of these services can guarantee benefits to the people only when their performance is audited independently and feedback of the beneficiaries sought for the improvement of the services. In absence of close scrutiny and performance evaluation by independent citizen organizations, the utility of state services and infrastructure cannot be evaluated adequately. Therefore, social audit of public facilities becomes imperative to identify gaps through opinion surveys and feedback from citizens. In addition to this, dearth of basic data and analytical reports dealing with problems of citizens undermines the capacity of civil society organizations to take affirmative actions for their rights, but also retards capacity of public representatives to deliver on the real life issues.

Understanding the importance of social audit for policy making and to initiate a meaningful debate between public departments, representatives and citizens, CRCP undertook a research report on “Social Audit of Public Facilities in Islamabad: Creating Interface Between Citizens, Line Departments and Public Representatives.” The report assesses the state of infrastructure and civic facilities in urban Islamabad from the viewpoint of citizens and consumers. This study is significant for critically evaluating the performance of public services and civic facilities in urban Islamabad. Using primary data, it analyses feedback from people on various services including water supply, electricity, gas, telephone, sanitation, environment, public parks, health, education, public transport, police and local markets and sorts out major issues to prioritize citizens’ agenda in the capital. It also provides useful data on state of public facilities in Islamabad, which is not only relevant for public representatives, but for individual citizens, government departments, civil society and media as well.
   
Sustainable Energy Consumption and Environment Protection
2003, pp 145, Rs. 500.

This study is based on a project that Consumer Rights Commission of Pakistan (CRCP) has recently implemented with the support of Global Environment Facility (GEF) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The project aimed at protecting environment by promotion of sustainable energy attitudes at the household level and advocacy for measures at the systemic level that could reduce significant losses of energy at the transmission and distribution stage. The project had also envisaged comparative testing of home appliances to determine their efficiency in terms of energy use and a follow up engagement with relevant business and regulatory bodies to promote the energy efficiency standards for home appliances. This study has a three fold thematic focus: (a) domestic energy consumption patterns in the urban parts of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, (b) comparative testing and the state of home appliances in local market, and (c) institutional and legal framework of energy sector in Pakistan.

The findings of this study are likely to serve as a basis for advocacy efforts by environmental groups for promotion of sustainable energy consumption practices. On the other hand, these entail important policy implications and, in fact, call for a whole-scale review of existing energy policy. While development of more energy sources may still be required, it is amply clear that significant savings can be made through emphasis on efficient home appliances, better consumption practices and reduction in losses at transmission and distribution stages.

   
Development Disparities in Islamabad: Comparative Performance of Public Facilities in Rural and Urban Areas
2003, 43 pp, Rs. 115.

Inequality is among the most critical root causes of injustice, poverty and social disorder. Deficiencies at policy level ingrain this inequality in social structures and perpetuate poverty. In Pakistan, such policy lacunae manifest vehemently in rural and urban development gaps. Rural population has not received equal treatment in development schemes of the state in all parts of the country. To voice these concerns, CRCP undertook the report “Development Disparities in Islamabad: Comparative Performance of Public Facilities in Rural and Urban Areas.” This report identifies various development gaps between rural and urban areas of Islamabad.

This study consists of three chapters. First chapter serves as an introduction of the study. Second chapter covers a variety of sectors like water supply, electricity, gas, telephone, sanitation, environment, public parks, health, education, public transport, police, local markets and district government system to identify various development gaps between rural and urban areas of Islamabad. By developing a comparative analysis of the performance of public facilities in Islamabad, this chapter highlights the differential treatment meted out to the rural segment even in Islamabad. Third chapter concludes the report and recommend measures at policy level that should be put into action to ensure the access of basic civic facilities to all citizens regardless of the socio-economic status and rural-urban divide. Information contained in this report will certainly apprise the public representatives and facilitate the development planners and the executing departments to address the disparities effectively.

State of Consumer Rights, 2001
2002, 190 pp, Rs. 500

This research report is second in the annual series on state of consumer rights in Pakistan. It analyzes the state of consumer rights in Pakistan in the year 2001 and highlights crucial concerns and problems of citizens and consumers regarding various departments and public services. Like the first report, State of Consumer Rights 2000, it interprets and analyzes the data from consumers' perspective with a particular focus on inarticulate, disadvantaged, marginalized section of society. The report is significant in context of serious dearth of independent research and analytical reports on issues of public interest in Pakistan. The report covers a variety of sectors, which include consumer laws, education, health, food, water, environment, power, elecommunication, petroleum, gas, transport, banking, insurance and media in fourteen separate chapters. In each sector,accessibility, availability, tariff and pricing, regulation, quality and performance, transparency, accountability and public participation make running themes. In comparison to the previous report, it contains two new chapters on Postal Services and Housing. Optimal use has been made of annual reports of various government departments. The most interesting feature of this report is the comparative performance analysis of public utilities and various sectors. This offers an overview of the developments, which took place during 2001. Download*.pdf | *.Zip

 
Food Safety Legislation in Pakistan
Download *.doc
 
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