Lawyers’ unruly protest: IHC CJ urges PBC, IBC to discharge legal obligation

ISLAMABAD: The Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) Thursday wrote a letter to the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) and the Islamabad Bar Council (IBC), urging the regulatory bodies to discharge their legal obligation by holding the lawyers accountable who were involved in storming the judicial compound.

Justice Athar stated in the letter that it is probably unprecedented for a chief justice to be drawing the attention of regulatory authorities toward grave misconduct of members of the legal fraternity that must already be in the knowledge of the frontline regulators of legal practitioners having transpired in full public view resulting in ignominy for all of us associated with this noble profession.

“Despite the grave nature of the incident, I have chosen to write you in the first place, as I cannot imagine that the statutory regulatory authorities would remain oblivious to an event of such magnitude causing grave consternation to all right thinking members of our society,” said the IHC CJ.

He added that not doing so could have been seen as an acknowledgment of the failure of the regulatory framework governing the conduct of the enrolled advocates.

The regulatory authorities whether the PBC or the IBC consist of elected representatives of the legal fraternity.

He continued that their allegiance and commitment to upholding the dignity of one of the noblest professions can neither be doubted nor undermined.

It is this firm confidence and faith that has led me to bring to the notice of the respective regulatory authorities, the facts of one of the most shocking and unimaginable incidents regarding the behaviour and of a handful of enrolled advocates.

The IHC CJ further said, “It was unthinkable that enrolled advocates dressed in uniform would storm the Islamabad High Court, violently vandalize its property and attempt to intimidate and threaten the Chief Justice and other Honourable judges by keeping them detained for hours.”

He continued that it was definitely one of the most disturbing and despicable display of conduct by guardians of the law.

The unimaginable conduct of a few was enough to bring collective shame upon the entire fraternity, besides eroding the confidence of the people of Pakistan.

Then, Justice Athar narrated the details of the incident of lawyers rampage on February 8 and termed it more grave in nature than the storming of the Supreme Court on November 28, 1997, which had led to the conviction of several elected members of the parliament as guardians of the rule of law were involved in this recent incident.

“The nature of accountability in the case of this misconduct ought to be such that on one who is part of the noble legal profession can ever think of attempting to breach the code of conduct in such a manner in the future,” stated the CJ’s letter.

It added, “The dignity and sanctity of the elevated legal profession depends on the enforcement of the regulatory frame work by the Pakistan Bar Council or the Islamabad Bar Council as the same may be. The legal frame work is based on the principle of self regulation. The frontline regulatory authorities are on trial, so are the Court.”

The IHC chief justice maintained, “Rest assured that this disgraceful and undignified act will be taken to its logical conclusion, so that it is never repeated again and those involved be strictly dealt with in accordance with law.”

He also said that it is time for the PBC and the IBC to also set a new precedent and break the tradition of silence and status quo and uphold the dignity of the courts by holding public accountability of these unruly elements in the bar.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021