Judiciary’s independence no threat to democracy: CJP

Says state institutions failed to perform duties, forcing the judiciary to come into action.

LAHORE:

Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry has said that state institutions and public functionaries have failed to perform their constitutional duties, forcing the judiciary to come into action to discharge its duties. He added that there was no threat to democracy, if the constitution and the judiciary worked independently.

Justice Chaudhry was addressing a reception hosted by the Lahore High Court Bar Association in his honour at a local hotel. Attendees at the reception included Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry, Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court Justice Iqbal Hameed ur Rehman and judges of the Supreme Court and Lahore High Court.

“Energies of the judicial organ are being consumed because of the inability of other state functionaries and public functionaries to carry out their constitutionally mandated duties. In such an eventuality, the judiciary comes into action not because of choice but because of the compulsion to discharge a duty,” Justice Chaudhry said.

He pointed out that the judiciary was often faced with situations where the executive showed stubbornness in submitting to the principles of rule of law and acted in an arbitrary manner. Then the people took recourse to the judiciary which is required to take up the matter and resolve the issue and grant relief.

Justice Chaudhry said that he firmly believed that the judicial organ of the state neither had the ability nor the mandate to reform other pillars of the state. But it is the prime constitutional duty of the judiciary to enforce fundamental rights and to ensure that society is governed under the strict application of constitutional norms and legal spirit.  “No deviation from this premise will ever be countenanced or condoned, “he added.

The chief justice said that during the hearing of important constitutional cases it had been realised that majority of the governance-related problems of the country were happening due to the fact that “we have forgotten the principles and the spirit of the constitution.”

He said all political forces, the civil society, the media and everyone related to the state must rise above short-term personal or group interests and adhere to the constitutional norms.  “If we start following our constitution in letter and spirit, we can surmount every challenge with perfect ease and dignity,” he added.

Justice Chaudhry said that it was the utmost duty of both the Bar and the Bench to keep a relationship based on mutual respect, trust and professionalism. He also called upon lawyers to discourage frivolous litigation.

About National Judicial Policy, the chief justice said the policy had started paying dividends and the disposal of cases, both at the superior courts and in the district courts, has observed a marked improvement. He explained that in SC last year 15,910 cases were disposed of while 15,996 new cases were instituted.

About corruption in courts, Justice Chaudhry made it clear that a zero-tolerance policy was being followed about the menace of corruption and all high courts have been directed to put in place an effective monitoring and control system.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 16^th, 2011.