Courts across the globe are facing challenges in handling increasing numbers of cases, leading to long wait times for individuals and businesses seeking resolution. However, a recent study published in the journal Manufacturing & Service Operations Management has discovered a simple way to speed up the judicial system without the need to hire more judges.

This study highlighted that making small adjustments to court scheduling could reduce case delays by up to 65%. By shifting judicial time allocation between early and later stages of case processing, researchers found that resolutions could be hastened significantly, without requiring additional resources.

Focusing on the Supreme Court of India, one of the busiest courts in the world where cases typically take 275 days to resolve, the study proposed that by giving more attention to later stages of cases, the average resolution time could be slashed to just 96 days. This change could greatly alleviate backlogs and enhance efficiency.

Contrary to common belief that expanding the judiciary is the only way to reduce case delays, this research suggests that effective time management can play a significant role in expediting case resolutions. This solution is not limited to India but can be applied to appeals courts worldwide, including those in the United States experiencing growing judicial backlogs.

The goal is to make justice both fair and timely, and this research offers a practical and scalable solution to help courts streamline case processing more efficiently. Rather than immediately resorting to hiring more judges, this study proposes a smarter scheduling approach that can yield high impacts at low costs.

In a time where courts are under increasing pressure to deliver faster outcomes without additional resources, implementing smarter scheduling strategies based on data-backed research can offer an immediate solution to one of the biggest challenges faced by judicial systems today.