Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, addressing the opening ceremony of new Judicial Year 2011-2012 at the Supreme Court building on Monday, said: �The judges of superior courts, on retirement, receive reasonable compensation package as commutation and pensionary benefits and as such, financially, don�t need to aspire for re-employment.�
The federal government last month had decided to appoint the recently retired judge of the apex court Justice Javed Iqbal as NAB chairman and sent a summary to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in this regard.
Attorney General for Pakistan Maulvi Anwarul Haq and President Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Asma Jahangir also addressed on the occasion.
The chief justice said that the Constitution places bar on such reemployment, adding, �Article 207 of the Constitution stipulates that a retired judge of superior courts shall not hold any office of profit in the service of Pakistan before the expiration of 2 years after his retirement.� The National Judicial Policy also provides that the retired judges should maintain higher standard of decorum and should not accept a post, which may lower their status or dignity. �I should, therefore, expect that in keeping with the higher standards and decorum of the institution, the retired judges, who hold posts or positions which are impermissible under the Constitution will review their position and relinquish the same to uphold the principle of independence of judiciary,� the CJP said.
Regarding the prevailing situation in the country, the chief justice said that the successive constitutional deviations served no purpose except to retard the advancement towards political stability and national integrity. He said: �Our national salvation lies in strictly following the principles of the Constitution and observing the rule of law, which is a sure panacea for good governance and clean administration.�
Referring to the National Judicial Policy, he said it produced positive results with regard to expeditious disposal of cases. As for the backlog of cases in the Supreme Court, from Sept 1, 2010 to Sept 10, 2011, 15,027 cases including 10,445 petitions, 3,713 appeals and 869 cases of different categories were instituted, he said, adding that during the said period 15,262 cases were decided, including 9,695 petitions, 3,738 appeals and 1,829 cases of different categories.
At the principal seat, Islamabad 7,173 new cases were instituted and 8,290 cases were decided, at Lahore Branch Registry 4,733 new cases instituted and 4,462 cases decided, at Karachi 1,570 new cases instituted and 1,535 cases decided, at Peshawar 1,144 new cases instituted and 784 cases decided and at Quetta 407 new cases instituted and 191 decided, the chief justice informed.
He said some 19,558 cases were pending on Sept 1, 2010 and since then 15,027 new cases were instituted, thus taking the tally to 34,585 cases. With the disposal of 15,262 cases, the current pendency stood at 19,323. In addition, the Human Rights Cell under the Public Interest Litigation jurisdiction had been redressing the grievances of the aggrieved persons, he added.
In Sept 2010, 15,263 cases were pending and since then 52,432 new applications and complaints were filed and out of them 56,115 cases had been disposed of. The court achieved its stipulated objectives and decided record number of cases, despite some constraints i.e. depleted strength of judges due to retirement and formation of larger benches on important constitutional matters, pending before it, he said. The chief justice also appreciated the role played by the bar in disposing of pending cases and for their hard work and assistance to the court in every possible way.
The chief justice said before implementation of the National Judicial Policy, on June 1, 2009 about 18 lac cases were pending in the Supreme Court, Federal Shariat Court, High Courts and District Courts but this figure had been reduced to 14 lac on June 30, 2011. About 56 lac new cases were instituted in the said period. Out of them more than 60 lac cases have been decided, he added. Similarly, during last year on 1st September, 2010 about 13 lac cases were pending and 23 lac new cases were instituted out of which 22 lac cases were disposed of on 30th June, 2011.
The CJ further said the disposal of cases in the district-level judiciary was not so encouraging. �Keeping in view the statistics, it appears that some 17 percent cases are pending in the superior courts whereas 83 percent of cases are pending in district judiciary,� he added. He said side by side with disposal, the campaign to sort out corrupt judges and staff also continued unabated and the High Courts dismissed and disciplined quite a few judicial officers, mostly the senior ones as well as court staff.
About the event, he said it was an occasion to renew their pledge and determination to keep the course: the course of adhering to the norms of the Constitution and dispensing justice to all and sundry. He stressed for application and enforcement of the fundamental law of the land and ensure that all institutions and authorities work under it. �This is indeed a tall claim, but let me assure you that with the cooperation of my brother judges and support of the bar, we will make relentless efforts to protect and enforce the fundamental rights,� he added. The CJ said �We have to keep our oath: �preserve, protect and defend the Constitution� and do right to all manner of people, according to law, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will.�
Attorney General for Pakistan Maulvi Anwarul Haq in his speech highlighted the important cases disposed of by the apex court in the last judicial year, including human rights cases. He said the Constitution guaranteed an independence of judiciary and prevented interferences by the executive, similarly, the same judicial independence should be operated within the constitutional domain.
Asma Jahangir said that public interest litigation (PIL) is a valuable tool that the judiciary can use for the empowerment of the vulnerable and the disadvantaged, therefore the bar wholeheartedly supports it. Nevertheless, PIL should neither become an �unruly horse� nor should be applied selectively. She said that most petitioners in IPL cases are professional litigants rather than public-spirited individuals or organisations.
Talking about the PCO judges, she said that the PCO judges paid price for their lack of judgment or integrity. She said that the bar is justified in supporting the dismissal of these PCO judges, but as lawyers and people who believe in justice rather than revenge, we cannot stigmatise these individuals for life. Regarding the recent appointment of judges to the superior courts, she said that there is almost consensus at the bar that these appointments fall far short of merit.
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