Pakistan Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry has stressed the need for providing legal protection to investments to usher the country into the age of development and prosperity. He said that when a person invests in a country, he first goes through the legal system, which deals with the laws governing investment and the market.
He was addressing the lawyers' community here at Peshawar High Court where he came to administer oath to the newly elected office-bearers of Peshawar High Court Bar Association on Saturday. He said that in the Asia-Pacific rim economic and social uplift was co-related with a transparent and effective legal system. He said an effective and independent judicial system could offer protection to investors.
Justice Chaudhry administered oath to the newly elected office-bearers of the Peshawar High Court Bar Association. Eleven out of 13 judges of Peshawar High Court attended the function. Two judges, Justice Jahanzeb Rahim, who sent a letter against Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry to President Pervez Musharraf, and Justice Talat Qayyum, who is a heart patient, did not attend the function.
Justice Chaudhry said that only rule of law could guarantee protection of fundamental rights and freedoms of people enshrined in the Constitution. He said that independent judiciary was inevitable to safeguard the rights of people.
He said the Constitution guaranteed fundamental rights, including equality of status, social economic and political justice, freedom of thought, expression, belief, faith, worship and association subject to law and public morality. He mainly focused on the preamble of the Constitution and cited some of the articles which stressed rights and freedoms of citizens and their interpretation and protection by the superior courts.
He was received by Chief Justice of Peshawar High Court, Justice Tariq Pervez and Justice Shahjahan Khan on arrival. He was accompanied by Munir Malik, Aitezaz Ahsan, Hamid Ali Khan, Ali Ahmed Kurd. General public, activists of political parties and office-bearers of bar associations welcomed his motorcade at Hasan Abdal, Attock Khurd, Jehangira, Sheedo, Akora Khattak, Nowshera, Pabbi and Peshawar.
Justice Chaudhary said he was thankful to Chief Justice of Peshawar High Court and other judges and office-bearers of the bar association. He said the people of Pakistan could observe the principles of democracy, freedom, equality, tolerance and social justice as enunciated by Islam.
He said the Constitution guaranteed rights to minorities to freely profess and practise their religion. He said obedience to the Constitution and law was the obligation of every citizen. He said the superior courts should protect the rights of citizens and institutions under various articles, including 184, 187, 188 and 189 of the Constitution.
He said that autonomy and independence of institutions was essential for their development. He said the intervention of one institution in the affairs of other institution not only introduced bad governance, but tampered with the free functioning of institutions. He said the autonomy of institutions was important like provincial autonomy. He said the judicial system could pave the way for transparent, accountable and good governance.
He referred to special laws for the marginalised and vulnerable groups like children, women and minorities and said that Constitution provided guarantee on such vital issue and it could be achieved through an independent and affective judicial system, which should be responsive to these groups.
He said he used to receive 150 complaints daily, which after going through the stuff he would mark to different Judges. He also spoke about the socio-economic rights of the citizens. He said investors in any society first enquired about the legal system of the country where he wanted to invest his capital.
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