LAHORE, Sept 21: Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry said on Saturday justice without fair and expeditious trial would not be justice indeed.

He said the right to fair trial had been recognised by all countries of the world respecting the rule of law. The right to fair trial, he said, had been defined in various regional as well as international instruments related to human rights.

The CJP was addressing a convention arranged by Supreme Court Bar Association on “Fair Trial” (prospects and implementation). Many sitting judges of Supreme Court and Lahore High Court, Chief Justice of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and representatives of bar councils and associations participated in the convention.

Justice Chaudhry said in Pakistan the right to fair trial was inserted as a fundamental right in the form of Article 10A of the Constitution through 18th Amendment. Besides, he said, there was a long list of judgments wherein right to fair trial had already been recognized by superior courts. “This clarifies that right to fair trial was already being recognized by our jurisprudence before its insertion in the Constitution,” he maintained.

He said after consultation with all the stakeholders of administration of justice, National Judicial Policy (NJP) was formulated to improve the judicial system. He said the thrust of policy was to consolidate and strengthen the independence of judiciary, thereby enabling the judiciary to exercise institutional and administrative independence.

He said as the amendment in already enacted laws was not in the domain of judiciary, for expeditious disposal of criminal cases and to ensure fair trial for the accused persons, certain necessary and indispensable measures were adopted through the NJP to reduce the delays.

The CJP said if the people were not treated equally before the law then they felt aggrieved and tended to take the law into their hands which ultimately would prove fatal for the whole society.

He pointed out that in order to prevent the law enforcement and intelligence agencies from using their powers arbitrarily and to regulate their powers in accordance with law under proper executive and judicial oversight, “Investigation for Fair Trial Act, 2013” had been enacted.

“I am sure that by ensuring proper implementation of this right we can ensure the right of access to justice to all”, the CJP said.