23 May 2004	Sunday	03 Rabi-us-Saani 1425

ISLAMABAD, May 22: Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Nazim Hussain Siddiqui on Saturday deplored that in Pakistan laws are made but not fully implemented and stressed alternative dispute resolution arrangements.

"It is time to restore the image and respect of the judiciary by becoming more sensitive towards the interest of both the litigants and the society," the chief justice said, while speaking at a seminar on "Access to Justice and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)". The seminar was organized by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) here at the Supreme Court auditorium.

The chief justice explained that the ADR in real terms means, out of court settlement of disputes through different modes like arbitration, mediation, conciliation, early neutral evaluation and facilitation.

The ADR is relatively a new approach being used to deal with an age old problem like backlog, delayed resolution of disputes and the problem of expensive litigation, the chief justice said emphasizing that disputes should be resolved in time because people were loosing faith and confidence in judiciary and were compelled to look for alternative ways.

The chief justice also cited his personal experience when he had to decide a simple appeal about rent which was pending for the last 29 years.

He said the system was being practised in advanced countries like the UK and the USA and after Lord Woollf's report on the civil procedure, the ADR became an important tool in Britain.

He said the ADR did not require legislation for implementation but simple orientation and training of judges, motivating lawyers to persuade their clients for an amicable settlement in addition to public awareness to inform the litigant parties to avail the ADR and the contribution of civil society and NGOs to establish necessary forums for conducting amicable settlement proceedings.

He also asked the bar associations to groom lawyers to act as mediators and settle disputes with neutrality and impartiality.

Referring to unnecessary delays in civil or criminal litigations, the chief justice deplored that even interim orders of trial courts were being challenged up to the Supreme Court - a tendency which was undercutting the system of administration of justice.

The chief justice also called upon the bench and the Bar to join hands and work in unison for removing the obstacles in the way of access to justice and for simplifying the laws and procedures to facilitate expeditious disposal of cases.

Earlier, Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry of the Supreme Court asked for constituting a committee under the chairmanship of the chief justice in which provincial chief justices should also be given representation along with members of the Pakistan Bank Council (PBC) and president/secretaries general of the SCBA to recommend ways to avoid delays in disposal of cases and imparting inexpensive justice to the litigants.

Justice Chaudhry also asked for increasing proportionately the number of courts, both criminal and civil, to help clear backlogs and pendency.

He also suggested revival of conciliation courts throughout the country, by extending their jurisdiction to decide petty disputes between the litigant public at the local level.

He asked for amending the arbitration act to make it more simple and free from technicalities besides taking necessary steps to develop cohesion between courts and lawyers to help each other in solving the problem of delays in the disposal of cases.

Justice Chaudhry recommended reactivation of free legal aid committees through consultation of the Bar councils for providing legal aid and disseminating legal knowledge to the litigants so that their problems could be resolved as early as possible.

He also asked that a national legal education policy be framed, which should contain provisions for establishing law colleges, admission of students strictly on merit, instead of encouraging those who join the profession of law without having the right aptitude.