KARACHI, Nov 24: Family courts presided over by female judges would be set up in every district as required by a 1994 amendment to the Family Courts Act, 1964, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry said here on Thursday.

Addressing the Sindh High Court Bar Association’s annual dinner at the high court lawns, he said both the Lahore and Sindh high court bar associations had made the demand and he would do his best to have it accepted.

He also agreed with the plea for budgetary allocations for bar associations and councils. The grants announced by ministers on different occasions were no substitute for regular funds made available as a matter of right, the CJ said.

He urged the bench and the bar to work together for dispensation of expeditious justice because the litigant public would be compelled to have recourse to other means if the judicial system failed to deliver. He appreciated the steps taken by the SHCBA for lawyers’ welfare, particularly the establishment of an educational trust for their children.

As a developing nation, the CJ said, the state and society in Pakistan were in a state of constant flux. There were demands on the state to adjust to the changing times and emerging international realities. There were economic problems to be addressed; social tensions to be resolved; and political developments to be tackled. “All this requires vision, will, determination and wisdom,” he said.

Justice, he said, was to be administered not in the abstract but in the context of prevailing social, economic and political philosophy. In the past few years, he said, the Supreme Court had been striving to interpret the law in manner consistent with the prevalent constitutional norms, cultural values, political realities and the requirements of the changing times. It sought to reinforce democratic dispensation, strengthen state institutions and improve the quality of governance. He expressed hope that this would ultimately lead to establishment of a society based on respect for law and obedience to the rule of law.

SHCBA President Akhtar Hussain said the people had yet to enjoy the fruits of true democracy as the elected assemblies were overwhelmingly dominated by feudal and tribal aristocracy. Civil society had been undermined by the military establishment in every sphere of life, he said, and added that religion was being exploited as a tool against forces of social change.

“Corruption is rampant, respect for human rights is lacking and the rulers are least concerned about enforcement of human rights and principles of policy enshrined in the Constitution,” he said.

He called for increase in the number of high court judges and their appointment by a judicial commission. The bar, he said, had always resisted creation of parallel judiciary and would continue to do so. The SC registries in the provincial capitals should hear regular appeals in the interest of justice. He said the mushrooming growth of law journals was causing additional financial burden on lawyers.