Judicial perception: Judiciary hit by culture of self-projection: CJP

Expresses concern over lengthy judgments of judges

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Anwar Zaheer Jamali observed that the ‘culture of self-projection’ is damaging the image of judiciary. He observed that half a century ago, verdicts spanning not more than 10 pages were written but now judges are competing over writing lengthy judgments. He said some verdicts spread over more than 1,000 pages were being released.

He termed it a ‘culture of self-projection’ which negatively affects the public’s perception of the judiciary. The CJP urged judges to make a decision based on the legal points before them instead of involving themselves in unnecessary academic discussion.



The CJP gave these remarks during the appeal hearing filed by Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq against the August 22 judgment in which he was de-seated from his NA-122 seat and was heavily fined.

Earlier, senior advocate Shahid Hamid who appeared on behalf of Ayaz Sadiq, raised objections over the language used by tribunal judge Kazim Ali Malik in the NA-122 judgment. He highlighted that paragraph seven of the judgment indicates a clear bias of the judge against the appellant.

“The judge is saying, in so many words, that if he decides the petition in favour of the appellant (Ayaz Sadiq) in this high-profile election dispute then he will be following the doctrine of necessity-cum-expediency instead of making a detailed examination of the election record to arrive at the truth. The impugned order merits to be set aside on this ground alone,” the counsel argued.

The advocate also contended that the tribunal’s judgment on NA-122 was a stigma for his client Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and therefore it should be set aside.

After the statement from Advocate Shahid, the chief justice also expressed his concerns over the issuance of lengthy judgments.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 10^th, 2016.