May 04, 2007	Friday	Rabi-us-Sani 16, 1428

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window).

ISLAMABAD, May 3: Terming independence of judiciary essential for rule of law, prominent legal experts here on Thursday stressed that all organs of the state should function within their limits prescribed in the constitution.

Speaking at the concluding session of a two-day international conference on “Justice, accountability and international experience”, they said encroachment of the military on all aspects of national life had distorted the national landscape.

They urged demilitarisation of politics and the economy as a way towards establishment of rule of law and supremacy of the constitution.

They said the struggle for independence of judiciary in the country still had a long way to go; however it was gaining momentum.

The courage shown by Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and the movement of lawyers have the potential to bring about a change for the better, the said.

The conference was organised by Pakistan Institute for Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT). Those who spoke on the occasion included former chief justice of Pakistan Justice Saeeduz Zaman Siddiqui, former Supreme Court Bar Association president Hamid Khan, Shahid Hamid, ex-governor Punjab; Dr Parvez Hassan, Senator Babar Awan, Justice Nasira Iqbal and Barrister Zafarullah Khan.

Legal experts from the UK, Italy, Belgium, Sierra Leon and Fiji including Alison Smith, Niccolo Figa-Talamanca, Graham Everett Leung and Abdul Rahim Kamara also participated in the conference.

Justice Siddiqui said the Supreme Court cannot go beyond the jurisdiction conferred upon it by the constitution, under which it was authorised only to interpret the law. “It has no power either to delegate to itself or to anyone else the legislative power which is the exclusive prerogative of parliament”.

The former chief justice, who along with five other judges of the apex court had to quit after refusing to take oath under the Provisional Constitution Order (PCO), was clearly referring to the Supreme Court judgment authorising General Musharraf to amend the constitution.

Dr Pervez Hassan said the military with its uncontrolled access to power and resource base of the nation was a serious threat to an effective rule of law in the years ahead. He said no objective of the country can be more important, and more pressing, than to restore civilian supremacy, the supremacy of the constitution, the laws and parliament. He emphasised that demilitarisation of politics and the economy was needed through capturing the potential of Article 6 of the constitution.

A minimalist approach, however, in the direction of the national accountability of the military would be to require the consideration and approval of the defence budget in the National Assembly.

Dr Hassan suggested that the country and its people should consider the establishment of the truth and reconciliation model so well pioneered by Chile and adopted to great national advantage and healing by Nelson Mandela in South Africa.

Mr Shahid Hamid said courts and judges in Pakistan were extremely overworked. Sharing numbers from a research, he said on average 1,000 cases per judge were pending in civil and sessions court of Punjab, while the number for Sindh and Balochistan was 600. Balochistan has a better position, where on average 45 cases per judge were pending at one time as a significant section of the population in the province relied on sardari and jirga systems for seeking justice. He said corruption was prevalent in the judiciary, especially in the subordinate judiciary.

He said the government spent less than one per cent of its total expenses on the judiciary which was very low. He believed that the judicial system needed extensive reforms.

Mr Hamid Khan said the judiciary was burdened with the image of being weak and pliable particularly towards the military regimes. It has been bending backwards to justify violation and subversion of the constitution at the hands of the military rulers. It has been legitimising the military regimes and in the process enjoying the fruits of power. Therefore, the judicial organ of the state has been politicised with irreparable damage to its reputation and credibility. A few good judgments here and there are exception rather than the rule.

Speaking on Jirga system in the tribal areas, Barrister Zafarullah Khan said the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) was a strange and unjust system, however, compared to traditional criminal justice system in the country, which was considered so bad, people still go to the jirga system to seek justice.

He said FCR still enjoyed widespread favour due to its less expensive nature and simple implementation. Although corruption has begun to enter the system and the poor and more vulnerable segments of society cannot afford to convene a jirga.