ISLAMABAD: CJ Iftikhar Chaudhry said on Monday that it was the need of the hour that the legislative and executive work in a manner to strengthen the judiciary because it would ensure survival of other organs in case some extra-constitutional forces strike the political dispensation.
Addressing a full-court reference on the retirement of Supreme Court Judge Justice Rehmat Hussain Jaffery, he said it was an unfortunate fact of Pakistan’s constitutional history that whenever such forces struck in the past, the legislature and the executive suffered, but the judiciary also came under pressure with adverse effects on principles of judicial independence and impartiality.
But now, the chief justice said, after the landmark judgment of July 31, 2009 in the case of Sindh High Court Bar Association versus the Federation of Pakistan, the Supreme Court had clearly done away with this past practice and declared that no judge of the superior judiciary would ever accept any unlawful and unconstitutional order of any authority under any circumstances.
“Now it is incumbent upon all institutions to work in unison with each other, which will ensure their independence and prime them up for performing their assigned constitutional duties,” he added.
The chief justice said as per Global Corruption Report 2007, corruption was prevalent in the justice sector, thereby undermining its credibility and performance. In Pakistan, he said, corruption in the judicial system was mostly on account of age-old practice of bribery. He said it was more pronounced in lower courts called Katchery.
“When courts are perceived to be tolerant of corruption, litigant parties and people lose hope in the justice system. It is a dangerous symptom as it is the beginning of the breakdown of peace and security in society and leads to increased crime and lawlessness,” he added.
He said accountability in the judiciary was necessary to eradicate corruption and culture of bribery. The chief justice said administering justice was not only the job of the judiciary, but also of all the three organs of the state.
“As far as the executive and the legislative are concerned, they also share an equal responsibility to achieve the objective of the independence of the judiciary,” Justice Iftikhar added. He paid rich tributes to Justice Rehmat Hussain Jaffery, saying Justice Jaffery had successfully played an important role of his life and had earned the respect of his colleagues and legal fraternity due to his professional competence and unassuming and affable personality.
The chief justice said Justice Jaffery not only brought rich experience of judicial administration, but also contributed much in the use of information technology and automation in the field of judicial administration.
“Despite his enormous judicial work, he has been active in strengthening the official website of the Supreme Court and providing his vision and guidance to make it user friendly and updating its contents from time to time,” he added.
Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq, Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Asma Jehangir and Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) Vice Chairman Muhammad Kazim Khan also addressed the gathering and paid rich tributes to Justice Rehmat Hussain Jaffery.
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