Future of judiciary remains question mark at law book launch
KARACHI: The future of the judiciary emerged as a major concern at the launch of ‘Rendezvous with Law – A Judge’s Reflection’ by Justice Khalid Ali Z Kazi of the High Court of Sindh. The launch would have been a usual one except for the presence of Chief Justice of Pakistan Abdul Hameed Dogar who came to Karachi for the first time since he took up his post after Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry was sacked under PCO-1 of 2007.
The first to air the concerns for the judiciary was the youngest-ever Advocate General Sindh, Dr Faroogh A Nasim, who, while defending the judiciary and judicial system in the post-Nov 3 period, said that: “Courts are functioning under the same framework of law as they were doing before. The jurisdiction of the courts is conferred by the Law and the Constitution and is very much intact… The institutions of the State should not be built upon individual personalities but upon well-recognized and sound norms and standards.”
Quoting a legal luminary, Dr Faroogh said that, “Continuity in the legal order alone can ensure the survival of the State. Let us work for the country to provide this continuity. No matter what happens, every action must be taken strictly in accordance with the Law and the requirements of legal continuity as Legal Continuity are itself fundamental to the concept of the Rule of Law”.
The author, Justice Kazi, was second to air his worries, stating that, “An independent judiciary is the foundation of a State”. A lot of discussion has been going on about changes in the Judiciary but in fact every change was “just a change of faces alone and not of integrity”.
Governor Ishratul Ebad, one of the guests, made the passing remark that the role of the Judiciary was indeed a hot topic at present and that the Law had been one of his fascinations.
CJP Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar commented on the necessary qualities of a judge. “A person who has chosen to be a judge must be alive to the high demands and expectations interwoven with and inherent in the institution of the judiciary.” He also held out a caution and said, “Let it be understood clearly that it is a job which carries no pomp and show, but at the same time it is one of the most respectable professions. Individuals who are desirous of pomp and show had better choose some other profession.”
Caretaker Federal Minister for Communications Barrister Habibur Rahman briefly commented on the general political atmosphere and without referring to the protests by lawyers said, “No one knows where the tendencies never seen elsewhere in the world take our society. Everything is now decided on streets and crossroads”.
Abrar Hassan of the Pakistan Academy of Jurists stressed the need to teach law students skills and that laws and rules shall be exposed to dynamism. Pakistan is a common law country where legislators make law and judges interpret laws but in practice while interpreting laws, judges also make the law, he said.
Source: Daily Times
Date:3/1/2008
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