“Judicial officers and lawyers try their utmost to provide justice to the people as our existence is dependent on the dispensation of justice. If people are disappointed with the institution of the judiciary too, then everyone knows what the consequences will be,” he observed while addressing the oath-taking ceremony of the newly elected body of the Karachi Bar Association here at the Sindh High Court lawn.
“The destiny of our institution is in our own hands. If we cooperate with each other and ensure that the very purpose for which we have been created is fulfilled we stand a good chance of being vindicated in the eyes of the public,” he observed.
In his speech, the chief justice also highlighted the role of the judiciary in a democratic setup and said that the judiciary has to act as an independent institution exercising jurisdiction within its constitutional domain.
“The judiciary as a custodian of the Constitution has to check constitutional deviation and the arbitrary exercise of power by the other institutions so as to ensure rule of the law and fair administration of justice,” he observed.
“In the present democratic set-up, the judiciary is trying to buttress democratic and parliamentary norms. It has never tried to assume the role of the executive or the legislature rather it respects the integrity and independence of every other institution,” he observed, adding that the judiciary always played its part within the parameters of its constitutional domain. “The role of the judiciary is not that of an opposition to the legislature or the executive. However, in cases of unauthorised action in utter violation of legal or constitutional norms, the judiciary has to exercise its power of judicial review,” he added.
Taking notice of the target killings of lawyers in Karachi, the chief justice directed the administration to look into the matter with regard to lawyers’ security and protection. He asked the chief justice of the Sindh High Court to take up the matter of the murder of Maqboolur Rehman advocate with the law enforcement agencies and other administrative authorities. The advocate was shot dead by unidentified people this month.
He said that the Supreme Court in the Karachi law and order situation case had declared that both the federal and provincial governments should safeguard the fundamental rights of citizens, observing that protection of the life and liberty of citizens is the responsibility of the state. He said that the Supreme Court will take action if any violation of its order is found and further directives will be issued for compliance of the court orders.
Regarding the shortage of judges in the Sindh High Court, the chief justice said that he conducted meeting with the Supreme Court judges and the SHC Chief Justice over the issue and soon it will be resolved. He asked para-legal staff to call off their strike as due to their agitation the judicial system in the subordinate judiciary is badly affected adding the matter of para legal staff, which is sub-judice, will be decided soon and they should wait for the court verdict in their case. He asked judicial officers to expeditiously decide family and civil disputes as it is very disappointing that child custody and other civil disputes are pending for several years without any decision.
On the lawyers’ problems with regard to enrolment, he expressed the hope the Chief Justice of the SHC will look into the problems being faced by the lawyers and resolve such issues in an appropriate manner. He said that corruption is a vice that is impinging upon the process of fair dispensation of justice and expressed the hope that lawyers will join hand with the judiciary in order to cleanse the judicial and legal system from corrupt practice so as to provide timely access to fair and impartial judicial services. He also asked judicial officers to ensure there should not be unnecessary adjournment in cases and said that judges and lawyers can overcome the evil of unnecessary delays in civil and criminal litigation by setting deadlines for completion of cases and enforcing these deadlines.
The CJ said that much has been done after the National Judicial Policy and much need to be done as the judicial system is still faced with the problems of corruption, protracted litigation and procedural laws, adding that judges of superior courts and judicial officers will again convene a meeting in the last week of January or February for perusal of suggestions in making the NJP more effective and up to date.
Chief Justice of Sindh High Court Justice Mushir Alam said that the issue of shortage of judges will be addressed by February and lawyers from all of Sindh will be considered for filling the vacant positions. President Karachi Bar Association Mehmoodul Hasan and Secretary Khalid Mumtaz appreciated the role of the judiciary for the supremacy of law and the Constitution and presented the problems being faced by the legal fraternity.
A lawyers’ delegation also met the CJP. The chief justice said that he had discussed the matter with regard to the appointment of judges with the Chief Justice of Sindh High Court and necessary steps will be taken soon to increase the strength of the high court.
He met with the office-bearers and a delegation of the Sindh High Court Bar Association, led by its President Anwar Mansoor Khan, Karachi Bar Association, led by its President Mahmoodul Hassan, and Hyderabad as well as Sanghar District Bar Association led by President Mr. Nisar Ahmed Durani and former President Anwar Mehmood Nizamani.
The chief justice said that names for elevation of judges are initiated by the chief justice of the concerned high court and subsequently discussed by the Judicial Commission of Pakistan. The lawyer’s representatives discussed many issues of their concern/interest with the chief justice. The Sindh High Court Bar Association raised the issue of shortage of judges in the High Court of Sindh, because of which pendency is increasing.
The bar members also discussed various problems, including target killing of lawyers in Karachi and issues pertaining to administration of justice, in particular dismissal of cases on technical grounds as well as early dismissal of cases for non-prosecution. The chief justice assured he would look into these problems and have then discussed and resolved at the proper forum.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry said that loyalty to the state is the duty of every citizen and obedience to the Constitution and the law is the obligation of every citizen including lawyers.
Addressing lawyers enrolled for the Supreme Court from Sindh and Balochistan at the Supreme Court Karachi Registry, the chief justice said that judiciary and lawyers are working within the parameters of the Constitution and hoped that lawyers would continue to work for the rule of law in the country.
He said that judiciary has stopped the way of martial law through its judgment by declaring the provisional constitutional order on November 3 as illegal and unconstitutional. He said that lawyers have to play their role for the supremacy of the law and the Constitution. Meanwhile, the chief justice chaired a meeting of the building committee and reviewed the pace of ongoing development work including the construction of a judicial lock-up.
The meeting, which was attended among others by Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain, Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany, Secretary Finance and Chief Engineer S.S. Farooq Kazi. The meeting also reviewed the construction and renovation work of servant quarters for SC employees.
Later, addressing the annual faculty dinner of the S M Law college, Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry said citizens must be made aware of their basic and fundamental rights and basic legal education should also be included as part of general education at all levels.
The CJ said that right to education has been recently included in the chapter of fundamental rights. He said that it is unfortunate that education in general and legal education in particular has still has not been accorded the due importance it deserves.
“When it is said that ignorance of the law is no excuse then it is duty of the state to provide legal education,” he observed.
The chief justice said that the Higher Education Commission should play its role in monitoring the standard of education particularly in the institutions where professional education is being imparted and colleges, universities and other professional bodies must take care of quality and should not compromise on the standard of education.
“The universities, colleges and regulatory bodies especially in the field of the law must maintain the quality and standard of legal education without which the system of administration of justice cannot work properly,” he observed.
The chief justice expressed concern that so far there is no single law university in the country and observed that the judiciary have revised the role and scope of the federal judicial academy to be a centre of excellence where legal education at the highest levels of masters and doctorate would also be imparted alongwith arrangements for conducting special research in related subjects. He expressed the hope that every individual and a nation should set their priorities right and create an enabling environment where education is made the prime national objective. the CJP also remembered late Arfa Karim, the youngest Microsoft certified IT professional and said she is a reflection of the potential our people possess.
