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Economic uplift impossible without education, says CJP
LAHORE: Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani has said that education is one of the fundamental factors in socio-economic development of society.
“No country can achieve sustainable economic development without improvement in the educational field,” he said while addressing a groundbreaking ceremony of the Shaikh Ahmad Hassan School of Law at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) on Saturday.
Speaking on the occasion, he said that education in Pakistan had not been given the priority that it really deserved. “Even today, only 1.9% of the GDP is being spent on education, whereas the UN’s minimum benchmark is 4.5%. In this backdrop, contribution of the private sector in the realm of education is a welcome development.”
The CJP further said that the existence of efficient justice delivery system results in establishing a belief in the general public that their rights would be protected.
“On the other hand, the absence of rule of law gives rise to a collective sense of despair and injustice, which makes a negative impact on the development of society,” he said.
Justice Jillani said that a society plagued by inner fissures, lawlessness, uncertainty and corruption was headed only towards decay. “The rule of law, which is one of the most vital characteristics of the effective judicial system, finds its place in the eight essential components of good governance as defined by the United Nations. It requires that every individual must be dealt with in accordance with well-established and clearly written rules, regulations, and legal principles notwithstanding his status or rank.”
He told the participants of the ceremony that laws regulated activities in all walks of life. “The objective of a good law is to facilitate the bargains of the stakeholders in society.”
He said that an effective judicial system had close nexus with good governance, maintenance of peace and socio-economic development in society.
Justice Jillani said that it was universally recognised that there was a close nexus between the quality of justice delivered and quality of legal education provided in the country. “The quality of justice delivered partly depends upon the quality of assistance rendered by the bar. The quality of the bar and the assistance it renders to the courts to a great extent depends on legal education.”
He said that he was confident that the law and policy programme launched by LUMS would achieve its goal, offering excellent professional education and research facilities and playing a positive and productive role in bringing about social change reform in the legal system, promoting social responsibility, stimulating intellectual dialogue and debate, providing informed input to regulators and policy makers, besides strengthening the legal profession and judicial institutions by ensuring rule of law and good governance.
Later, the CJP inaugurated the Ahmad Hasan School of Law and congratulated LUMS VC Dr Sohail Naqvi, chair and faculty members of Ahmad Hassan School of Law and all those who provided assistance in this noble cause. The Lahore High Court and Balochistan High Court CJs were also present on the occasion.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk