Book launch: ‘Bureaucracy’s adherence to rule of law must for economic revival’

Lawyer calls for determining the framework of good faith indemnity that is available to the bureaucrats

Ensuring adherence to the rule of law by the bureaucracy and promoting a legal culture of supporting public functionaries would be an important element in the government’s efforts to revive the country’s economy.

This was stated by noted lawyer and President, Research Society of International Law Ahmer Bilal Soofi while presiding over the launch of a publication titled ‘Good Decision-Making under Pakistani Law: A Guide for Civil Servants’. The manual has been produced by the Research Society of International Law (RSIL) in collaboration with Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS).

The publication contains simple and practical guidance for civil servants based on an exhaustive review of the latest judicial precedents of the superior courts in Pakistan along with illustrative case studies. It has been produced with a view to improve the quality of administrative decision-making and mitigate the chances of these decisions being challenged in the courts.

Soofi, while noting the importance of clarity among the bureaucrats about the laws related to the decisions that they take, observed that today’s bureaucrats operate in a highly challenging environment and should be supported when making decisions for the betterment of the country. “They need to be given confidence and that would come when the file-work of that decision making is clear”.

He also called for determining the framework of good faith indemnity that is available to the bureaucrats. The prime minister’s taskforce on bureaucratic reforms, he suggested, needs to look into this.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 8^th, 2018.