Reforming outdated, arcane laws

Addressing the participants of the National Management Course, Prime Minister Gilani said it is important that the outdated and arcane laws, rules and regulations are revisited from time to time and those found to be obstructive weeded out. He also underscored the point that regulations and procedures should not be allowed to hinder service delivery to the common man.
He was referring to the double whammy posed by regulations out of sync with the times, and red tape. The latter implies excessive regulation and rigid conformity to formal rules, filling out of unnecessary paperwork, obtaining of unnecessary licences and permissions, having multiple people or committees approve a decision and various low-level rules that make conducting one's affairs painfully slow and more difficult.
Among other things, this encourages corruption. Prime Minister Gilani's remarks were addressed to the right audience, which comprised trainees of the National Management College belonging to the senior echelons of bureaucracy. The institution, formerly known as Administrative Staff College, aims at developing itself into a centre of excellence at the international level in order to attract senior managers for training from all over the world.
The College is supposed to be the prime training institution, which keeps abreast of global trends in the field of management. Outdated laws and antiquated bureaucratic procedures pose problems to the common man while they hinder the growth of business and industry. Numerous mercantile and industrial laws, currently prevalent in Pakistan, have been inherited from the British era, some dating back to the 19th century.
They were made at a time when industry in subcontinent in particular was yet in its infancy and the gamut of industrial relations was, as compared to present times, far less complicated. Despite additions and alterations subsequently made, these too have, in cases, become outdated and require revision. There is a need, under the conditions, to bring them into consonance with recent developments. This is, however, just one aspect of the problem.
While it is important to introduce laws that are in line with the system's needs, equally important is to strictly enforce them. It is here that the failure, on the part of the government, is too obvious. The media continues to report cases where laws remain on the statute book without being enforced. Every civilised society has to observe the rule of law. This implies that the law is above everyone and applies to everyone.
Irrespective of one being the ruler or the ruled, no one is to be above the law, no one is to be exempted from the law, and no one is to be allowed to grant exemption from application of the law. There are two important implications for this. One, the laws should be very transparent and clearly worded so that all mature citizens can clearly understand the restrictions, obligations and prohibitions, as well as the penalties associated with the violation of these laws.
And two, the laws and prohibitions should be as few as possible to enable citizens and law enforcers to be able to remember them easily. Unless the rule of law is ensured, it would not be possible to provide a level-playing field without which neither trade nor industry can flourish. This is also required to ensure that merit rather than privilege is the criterion in recruitment, postings and promotions of government functionaries.
There is a lot that needs to be done in our country to overcome the too obvious shortcomings in this regard. On Friday, papers carried a story regarding the health ministry having failed to enforce the Breast-feeding Ordinance promulgated seven years back, allegedly under the pressure of a few baby formula milk companies.
This indicates a lapse on the part of the ministry, which was supposed to ensure compliance with the law. In another case, the Public Accounts Committee noted that while the members of Parliament are required to file returns, the President, Prime Minister and a number of persons holding important positions are exempted. This led the Chairman of the Committee to demand that there should be no exemption in this regard to any public representative or government functionary.
What is needed is the formation of a commission to review the outdated and arcane laws, rules and regulations and to suggest the required changes. The commission has to comprise administrators, technical experts, lawyers and social scientists. Its recommendations should be subject to a thorough debate in the parliament before the required changes can be effected to all such laws in an effective and meaningful manner.