LAHORE: Justice Saqib Nisar, the puisne judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, has said the judiciary is bound to protect and preserve the Constitution.

“In fact, the oath of a judge is a pledge implying complete submission to the Constitution,” he said in his keynote speech at the launching ceremony of eminent lawyer S.M. Zafar’s book ‘Understanding Statutes’ at a The Mall hotel on Sunday.

Judiciary could only interpret Constitution and the laws framed under it. It cannot formulate laws, he said while adding that the present judiciary believed in administration of justice within the shortest time without respect to individuals and do equal right to the poor and to the rich.

“Judiciary has recently been burdened more than usual on account of institutions, created under the Constitution but not performing their functions according to law and transgress their jurisdiction. We as judges of the courts are conscious that we cannot correct everything and we always select what seems to be more urgent need of the hour,” said the puisne judge.

Justice Nisar said S.M. Zafar had done a great job by producing a standard book on statutes that would benefit the whole legal fraternity – it would help both the Bar and the Bench discover and understand the spirit of the law.

Senator Aitzaz Ahsan said that with the passage of time the affairs of the state become complicated, resulting in formation of specialised statutes. Most of the statutes have been borrowed from the West but Mr Zafar has included Islamic jurisprudence in his book.

Known lawyer Dr Pervez Hasan said more than two decades ago, Mr Zafar wrote the first edition of the book. “It is the fourth edition of the book and every edition is not merely reprint but has additions. I have read the book and enjoyed it because it explains various cannons of interpretation of the statutes,” he said.

Lawyer Ahmer Bilal Soofi said understanding the statutes was to comprehend the management tools of the state. The book by Mr Zafar is an important and standard contribution to the jurisprudence of Pakistan,” he said.

Mr S.M. Zafar said the Quaid-i-Azam inspired him the most though he could never see him. He urged the judiciary to also include Islamic jurisprudence in their decisions.

“Judiciary is the creation of Constitution which provides a federal democracy, therefore to protect the constitution and to advance its objectives are the basic duty of the judiciary and our judges are acquitting themselves very well,” he said.

Barrister Syed Ali Zafar, the president of Supreme Court Bar Association, thanked Justice Mian Saqib Nisar for taking time out for the book launch.

Published in Dawn October 17th, 2016