Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Thursday observed that Pakistan is passing through a critical phase of its history wherein the day-to-day events of kidnapping for ransom, abduction, target killing, forced disappearances, energy crisis, corruption and nepotism; have crippled the socio-economic development and shattered the confidence of public in the concerned functionaries.
"It is the need of the hour that such authorities should work hard to rescue the democratic set-up from being distorted in the backdrop of these social evils", he said adding they should devise workable mechanisms and adopt high ideals of democracy in order to bring peace and harmony in the country.
Addressing full court reference held in the honour of retiring Supreme Court Judge Justice Shakirullah Jan, the Chief Justice expressed his hope that all the state institutions and civil society will join hands for achieving the common goal of transforming Pakistan to a true welfare state by following principles of rule of law, fairness, accountability, transparency and constitutional supremacy.
The Chief Justice said that the role of judiciary in all modern democracies is crucial for protecting human rights, countering terrorism, curbing violence and checking corruption and corrupt practices and good governance. "For this reason the constitutional documents of all modern democratic states accord highest degree of respect to the judicial verdicts and the corresponding responsibility of enforcement and implementation of the same on the concerned authorities", he added.
The CJP said that world-wide the judgements of the superior courts are followed and implemented by the subordinate courts and state institutions for defending citizens' rights rather than protecting government's interests. He said that interpretation of law is the work of Judiciary; however, the enforcement of law and implementation of legal decisions are the responsibilities of the executive.
The Chief Justice said that the role of judiciary could not be relegated to that of an opposition merely because it renders decisions strictly in accordance with law. "The existence of an independent judicial system and due respect for judicial verdicts are indispensable for any state to promote dispensation of fair justice", he said. The CJP said that the judiciary is fully aware of its basic duty to protect the rights of citizens as well as institutions and is performing functions purely within the constitutional domain.
He said that in any democratic set-up Judiciary being defender of the constitutional supremacy and rule of law is higher as compared to executive and the legislatures. "All the state institutions are bound to give due respect to the constitutional norm of independence of judiciary as envisaged in the very preamble of the Constitution of Pakistan", he added.
Paying rich tribute to the services rendered by Justice Shakirullah Jan, the Chief Justice said that Justice Jan possesses special aptitude in the area of judicial reform and moderation and special interest in the subject of intellectual property for which he attended many conferences and symposia both within the country as well as abroad. "It is often said that a judge speaks through his judgements and I must confess that the well-reasoned, rational and landmark judgements of Justice Jan in field of criminal and civil law will surely make good precedents to be followed by the judges as well as lawyers", he said. He said that Justice Jan will always be remembered as a towering personality in the field of law.
Justice Shakirullah Jan while addressing the ceremony expressed his gratitude for his fellow judges, lawyers and civil society for supremacy of constitution and rule of law in the country. Addressing the gathering, President Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), Yaseen Azad said that people of Pakistan accepted the verdicts of the Supreme Court whole heartedly and respectfully. He said that judiciary is the most important organ of the state which must remain independent.
President SCBA, draw attention of the Chief Justice towards vacant posts of judges in High Courts and hoped that vacant posts would be filled soon. He said that in the past judges had been appointed without considering the merits and stressed that appointment and elevation of judges must be done on merits.
Azad said that every judgement must be implemented and he appealed to all other institutions to respect and implement all judgements of the apex court in letter and in spirit. He said that every institution must work within their limits prescribed in the constitution. He said that every Pakistani wishes to see judiciary independent because it is their last hope but side by side they are of the view that democracy must continue and every government must complete their tenure. He also lauded the services of Justice Shakirullah Jan.-PR