11 July 2004	Sunday	22 Jamadi-ul-Awwal 1425

ISLAMABAD, July 10: Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Nazim Hussain Siddiqui on Saturday said the district judiciary was the backbone of any society, which could collapse if fair dispensation of justice was not ensured.

"Fair administration of justice is absolutely necessary for our survival as a civilized society and according to the Islamic jurisprudence, nothing can be more rewarding than dispensing justice," he observed.

He was speaking at the concluding ceremony of the 25th pre- service training course for new additional district and sessions judges from Punjab at the Federal Judicial Academy.

Twenty-two additional district and sessions judges were awarded certificates on completion of the eight-week pre-service training course. The chief justice also inaugurated the monitoring and video-conferencing system installed at the lecture hall of the academy.

"We are in dire need of making efforts to increase our efficiency and productivity," he said, adding that to ensure expeditious adjudication of cases, it is important to strive constantly to further improve and enhance the quality of trial process.

About the backlog cases, the chief justice said it was a challenge which should be met earnestly and diligently to earn the applause and satisfaction of litigants. "We are facing chronic malady of heavy backlogs and the clearance of backlogs requires a passion for work, commitment and single-minded approach of professionals," he said.

To meet the challenge of delay in the disposal of cases, the district and sessions judges should assume leadership role, work out and launch a comprehensive work plan.

Advising the trainee judges, he said after the conclusion of the course, their transformation to judicial functions would expose them to new challenges which could be overcome only through wholehearted and sincere response.

"Judiciary does not wield a sword to be effective and the moral authority of judges always come from the quality of their judgments and judicial decisions," the chief justice said.

Chaudhry Hasan Nawaz, the director-general of the academy, said the academy had designed a series of short- and long-term continuing education courses for judicial and non-judicial officers of both the higher and lower courts on the basis of the assessments of their needs.

The academy has also designed audio-video and other support material for implementation of the home-based learning packages and we hope to build the overall capacity of the academy for launching these distance education programmes for its participants in the relevant areas of instructions.