Seminar: Development linked to justice delivery
Experts discuss ways to improve legal services, institutional growth.
A 2012 study by the UNDP found over 1.3million cases pending with the district judiciary and often these remain stuck for at least five to 10 years before resolution, leaving the prisoners awaiting trial in jail, says Sattar. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
Criminal courts, condition of prisons and nature of law enforcement are intimately linked with development and require immediate focus and attention.
This was said in a statement issued by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime at a seminar titled “Investing in justice to accelerate development in Pakistan” held on Thursday. Legal, development and law enforcement experts were part of the panel discussions on the topic.
Lawyer Babar Sattar said “for years the access to justice between the citizen and the state has remained absent,” adding that “the entire system including needs to operate in coordination under a uniform procedure”. He also said that there is a huge need for institutional reform in order for change to take place.
A 2012 study by the UNDP found over 1.3million cases pending with the district judiciary and often these remain stuck for at least five to 10 years before resolution, leaving the prisoners awaiting trial in jail, he informed.
Sattar added that “people’s problems at district and high courts are still where they were many years ago”.
Stressing the need for a standardised law all over Pakistan, Federal Tax Ombudsman Dr Shoaib Suddle said “an independent ombudsman must be appointed for police and prosecutors”. He further said that there are no international practices that could fix Pakistan’s system, adding that global support needs to come altered to Pakistan’s needs.
General Secretary Human Rights Commission of Pakistan I A Rehman said “if the Supreme Court is to do what a local magistrate is doing, then the system is not working”.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, former military spokesman major-general Athar Abbas said there was a triangular relationship between security, justice system and development. Regarding countering terrorism, he said the army was needed in the beginning to secure the area and make way for the civil law enforcement to enter. “The army applied hard power to flush out militants in the troubled areas, but now there is a need for a civilian role and work on developing social power schemes to facilitate the return of a normal life,” he said.
HRCP co-chairman Kamran Arif, while talking to The Express Tribune, said that justice and development do not compete but compliment one another.
Without an effective and functioning justice system, Pakistan will never be able to establish rule of law on which governance and development interventions can rest, he said. “Ensuring equitable treatment and justice for all, based on due process, human rights and international standards is a critical pre-requisite for building trust between citizens and the state,” he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 21st, 2013.
Criminal courts, condition of prisons and nature of law enforcement are intimately linked with development and require immediate focus and attention.
This was said in a statement issued by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime at a seminar titled “Investing in justice to accelerate development in Pakistan” held on Thursday. Legal, development and law enforcement experts were part of the panel discussions on the topic.
Lawyer Babar Sattar said “for years the access to justice between the citizen and the state has remained absent,” adding that “the entire system including needs to operate in coordination under a uniform procedure”. He also said that there is a huge need for institutional reform in order for change to take place.
A 2012 study by the UNDP found over 1.3million cases pending with the district judiciary and often these remain stuck for at least five to 10 years before resolution, leaving the prisoners awaiting trial in jail, he informed.
Sattar added that “people’s problems at district and high courts are still where they were many years ago”.
Stressing the need for a standardised law all over Pakistan, Federal Tax Ombudsman Dr Shoaib Suddle said “an independent ombudsman must be appointed for police and prosecutors”. He further said that there are no international practices that could fix Pakistan’s system, adding that global support needs to come altered to Pakistan’s needs.
General Secretary Human Rights Commission of Pakistan I A Rehman said “if the Supreme Court is to do what a local magistrate is doing, then the system is not working”.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, former military spokesman major-general Athar Abbas said there was a triangular relationship between security, justice system and development. Regarding countering terrorism, he said the army was needed in the beginning to secure the area and make way for the civil law enforcement to enter. “The army applied hard power to flush out militants in the troubled areas, but now there is a need for a civilian role and work on developing social power schemes to facilitate the return of a normal life,” he said.
HRCP co-chairman Kamran Arif, while talking to The Express Tribune, said that justice and development do not compete but compliment one another.
Without an effective and functioning justice system, Pakistan will never be able to establish rule of law on which governance and development interventions can rest, he said. “Ensuring equitable treatment and justice for all, based on due process, human rights and international standards is a critical pre-requisite for building trust between citizens and the state,” he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 21st, 2013.