Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry said on Monday that nation's salvation lied in upholding the Constitution and democratic governance. He was speaking at a reference held on the retirement of Justice Rahmat Hussain Jafferi.
He said it was incumbent upon all the institutions to work in unison, as it would ensure their independence and prime them up for performing their assigned constitutional duties. "The time has arrived to strengthen all the institutions of the country and everybody needs to follow the principles of rule of law, transparency, merit and fairness in the discharge of his duties", he added.
He said the most essential role of the constitution was to interlink state structures and geared them towards realising the highest ideals of a democratic and social welfare state. He said, "The Constitution is also an agreement between various regions and nationalities to form one cohesive nation".
"Thus, the Constitution is an instrument of empowerment of the people by bestowing upon them the fundamental rights, including economic, social, political, civil and cultural rights", he added. He said for execution of such lofty ideals, the Constitution envisaged creation of a strong, healthy and competitive executive organ, which was ably managed by the bureaucracy.
If these institutions strictly worked under the rule providing a level-playing field to all the citizens, the country could achieve stability, success and recognition as a civilised democratic state, the Chief Justice said, adding, "because it is in the interest of all of us and our future generation to support the Constitution and democracy in the country".
Referring to corruption in lower judiciary, he said the Global Corruption Report, 2007 had admitted that corruption was prevalent in the justice sector. He said corruption in judicial system of the country was mostly on account of the age-old practice of bribery.
"It is more pronounced in the lower courts called Katchery. When courts are perceived to be tolerant of corruption, litigant parties and people lose hope in the justice system," he added. Terming it a dangerous symptom, the Chief Justice said it was the beginning of breakdown of peace and security in the society, which could lead to increased crimes and lawlessness.
He stressed that accountability in the judiciary was necessary to eradicate corruption and a culture of bribery. The high courts had taken stringent measures and removed many corrupt and ill-reputed judicial officers, he added. He said now it was a high time that one should not compromise by tolerating bribery because it was one of the causes to hinder independent judiciary. He further pronounced that administering justice was not only the job of judiciary, but of all the three organs of state.
He said, "as far as Executive and Legislative are concerned they also share equal responsibility to achieve the object of independence of judiciary". The Chief Justice also lauded the services of retiring Justice Rahmat Hussain Jafferi and said that he earned respect of his colleagues and legal fraternity due to his professional competence and unassuming and affable personality.
He said name of Rahmat Hussain Jafferi would be an addition to list of illustrious judges, who struggled for the independence of judiciary. Earlier, Attorney General for Pakistan Moulvi Anwarul Haq and Kazim Khan, Vice President of Pakistan Bar Council, in their speeches, stressed for co-operation between the bench and bar, and expeditious disposal of cases.