New judicial year: CJ tells retired judges to follow post-retirement rules
Since the judges of the superior judiciary receive reasonable pension and other benefits after retirement, they should not seek reemployment, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry said on Monday.
He was addressing a gathering at the Supreme Court (SC) on the occasion of the new judicial year. Article 207 of the Constitution bars retired judges of the superior judiciary from gainful employment for two years, the CJ added. He expressed the hope that judges who had accepted positions before the two-year bar would relinquish them. Before the implementation of the National Judicial Policy, 1.8 million cases were pending in the Supreme Court, Federal Shariat Court and district courts in June, 2009, said the CJ. The figure was reduced to 1.4 million by June 30, 2011.
Giving an overview of the Supreme Court’s performance, he said 15,027 cases were filed, while 15,262 cases were decided of which 7,173 cases were filed in Islamabad as against 8,290, the number of cases disposed of. In Lahore, 4,733 cases were filed and 4,462 were decided. In Karachi, 1,570 cases were filed and 1,535 cases decided. Likewise in Peshawar, 1,144 cases were filed and 784 were decided and in Quetta 407 cases were filed and 191 were decided. There are now 19,323 cases pending. During the past year, the court disposed of 56,115 complaints registered with the human rights cell for suo motu notice.
President Supreme Court Bar Association Asma Jahangir said in her address that the bar supported the SC’s decision to remove PCO judges. The other issue of significance she raised was the number of public interest litigation cases taken up by the SC, which she said lacked transparency. “There has been no creative interpretation of the law which defines public importance or gives any guidelines for invoking the jurisdiction of public interest litigation.”
Asma said the National Judicial Policy has serious conceptual flaws since it emphasises quick disposal rather than delivery of justice. “It has undermined the supervisory jurisdiction of the high courts over the subordinate judiciary. This has disturbed the three-decade old hierarchical structure of the court judiciary.”
Published in The Express Tribune, September 13th, 2011.
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1732549780-0/Speaker-Na-photo-22_04_2014-(1)1732549780-0-270x192.webp "negotiations underway between government pti over sit in venue")
@ habib and Mirza
atleast they accepted when was the last time an elected official accepted their mistake? Did Nawaz Shariff accept that it was his inability to govern and his greed that lead to pakistan being almost declared a failed estate and hence the military coup by musharaf? Did benazir admit that it was once again the lack of governance and inability to control corruption because in her tenure specially by her husband that let to her being ousted by her own party member then president leghari? Did Z. Bhutto accept that it was because of his blind arrogance and greed due and inability to accept a bengali leader that lead to the separation of east pakistan...that his hunger to control everything was so wild that he nationalized all private industries and schools which lead to the destruction of PIA, Pakistan steel mill an our education system. Stop criticizing the courts like it was all their fault, Even PPP distributed mithai when musharaf took over. The court follows a procedure let them carry their work out, for they are they only independent institution operating in our country.
@Habib: I agree with you 100%. A confessed serial killer cannot be allowed to go without any punishment. Similarly multiple acts of high treason are nothing to brushed aside. There cannot a crime bigger than that. The fact is there has not been a single military takeover that the SC did not love and edorse! Just like the army dictators, not a single judge was held accountable! These PCO SC judges have yet to formally apologize for thier oath under PCO of Mush.
Very gracious of him to confess the beach of the constitution. But , unfortunately, in law, a mere confession is not the end in litself. Are the judges who breached the constitution and defiled their oaths are still eligible to serve as judges. The justification for their legal and moral authority to administer justice is quite difficult to understand.
How could you keep the Courts still, unless you were Lepper-ed somewhere...and it is not the lion kind, please.
Where was your dictatorship when it was all foiled inot mutiney somewhere?
Zafarullah anyone, Or is it Sheikh Messave?
Umm, How do you serve in Ahmedi when they are not muslims here? Obama anyone, or Apostacy?