News
Sunday, May 20, 2012
State responsible for dispensation of justice, says CJP* Justice Chaudhry says only independent judicial system can guarantee sustainable democracy
ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Saturday said that the administration of justice was the responsibility of state, which is being exercised through judicial system.
Addressing a meeting of the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan (LJCP) in the Supreme Court, the CJP said, “Our existing procedural laws are decades old and are unable to keep pace with the emerging realities and necessitate reforms. Recent rapid development of technology and sociopolitical changes in the region have confronted our judicial system with new challenges and increased the need for modernisation and simplification of laws to ensure inexpensive and speedy justice enshrined in the constitution of Pakistan.” Justice Chaudhry also said that only a strong and independent judicial system could guarantee a sustainable democracy. He said further that democracy was a result of the constitution and abiding by the latter was imperative for all.
The meeting was attended by Federal Shariat Court Chief Justice Agha Rafiq Ahmed Khan, Attorney General Irfan Qadir, Balochistan High Court Chief Justice Qazi Faez Issa, Sindh High Court Chief Justice Musheer Alam, Lahore High Court Chief Justice Azmat Saeed, Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Dost Muhammad Khan, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Secretary Yasmin Abbasi, Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman.
Justice (r) Abdul Karim Khan Kundi, Abid Hassan Minto and Iqbal Haider also attended the meeting for the first time after their appointment as members of the commission.
The commission observed that it was the obligation of state to ensure inexpensive and expeditious justice under Article 37(d) of the constitution. Realising the sensitivity of problems being faced by an ordinary litigant due to delay in dispensation of justice, the commission recommended an increase in the number of district judges in order to allay the concerns of an ordinary litigant and to meet the challenges of growing litigation.
The commission decided that the federal and provincial governments should allocate additional grants to increase the strength of judges, allied staff and related infrastructure in the forthcoming budget to cope with the increasing litigation.
The body also observed that due to non-availability of execution powers to the Service Tribunals (STs), the litigants had to approach high courts to resolve their grievances and implementation of orders passed by the STs.
Taking into consideration the difficulties of civil servants in getting execution of orders of Service Tribunals, the Commission recommended that powers to execute its order should be bestowed on STs.
The commission also considered the deteriorating standard of investigation in criminal cases and its affect on the overall criminal justice system. The LJCP observed that Investigation was being conducted in a casual manner or deliberately legal flaws were left to help criminals. “This practice is not only earning bad name to the government but also shakes the confidence of general public in the formal justice system,” the body said.
The commission recommended that a penal section should be inserted in the Pakistan Penal Code to punish delinquent Investigating Officers who fails to carry out the investigation diligently in accordance with law.
The body recommended amendment in Section 89(A) Code of Civil Procedure 1908 to provide procedure for resolution of disputes through alternate disputes resolution methods. agencies
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk