Lahore High Court Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial. PHOTO: ZAHOORUL HAQ
“Justice is not measured by the number of convictions but the improvement these cases have in the society,” said Lahore High Court Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial said on Saturday.
He was addressing a seminar titled Court Reporting and Dispensation of Justice at the Judicial Academy.
The chief justice said the judiciary was committed to dispensing justice and the role of lawyers in the judicial process could not be ignored.
“Institutions take time to mature. Just as the media is maturing, so is the judiciary,” he said.
Commenting on court reporting, he said that a court’s credibility was challenged with false reports. He said journalists should take care to verify details of cases to minimise chances of error.
He said it was good that most court reporters chose to report stories carefully instead of being part of a “breaking news” culture.
Publisher Mujeebur Rehman Shami said court reporters should study law at undergraduate level. He said this would make them better court reporters.
Shami said lawyers’ associations should step up and take action against lawyers accused of misconduct.
Press Council of Pakistan chairman Raja Shafqat Abbasi disagreed with Shami’s suggestion that court reporter should get LLB degrees.
He said by Shami’s logic, a health reporter would ideally be a doctor. He said professional experience determined the capabilities of good court reporter.
Pakistan Bar Counsel Vice Chairman Ramzan Chaudhary said disciplinary committees were making efforts to reform lawyers. He admitted that some people among the lawyers’ community were “aggressive” and announced strikes over petty issues and appropriate action would be taken against them.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 13th, 2014.
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If the judiciary is still maturing, which is just one institution, then expecting pakistan to act anything like a matured country is asking too much i suppose. Why does the judge not just accept that our judiciary is one of the most corrupt and inept institutions of the country. And then we can start maturing from there.