CJ of Pakistan says the bench and bar are the two pillars of judiciary.
ISLAMABAD: The chief justice of Pakistan has time and again observed that the bench and bar are the two pillars of judiciary. The former’s job is to dispense free and impartial justice, while the latter’s function is to argue cases for their clients and help courts achieve justice. The CJP has also emphasised that there must be cooperation and coordination between the two pillars of the judiciary.
After the restoration of the superior judiciary, the legal fraternity seems to have gone out of control and young lawyers have been known to get into quarrels with judges of the subordinate courts in order to get decisions of their choice. The bar associations have failed to control lawyers from taking the law into their own hands. Instances of excesses committed by lawyers against court presiding officers, police and media persons and their boycotting of courts and banning entry of senior advocates to bar premises indicate that lawyers enjoy unbridled freedom.
The strikes and boycotts, in addition to causing unrest, also increase the agony of the public, delay justice and lead to accumulation of cases in courts. I fail to understand why these lawyers who are supposed to perform their duty in courts and satisfy their clients are not doing what they are supposed to be doing? One wonders why no power that be, is taking notice of such unbridled activities on the part of these lawyers. The honourable CJP may also ponder upon the issue and forbid such activities as mindless protests by the legal fraternity amounts to disrespect of the judiciary.
Raja ShafaatUllah
Published in The Express Tribune, July 7th, 2012.
