Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Saturday brushed aside the criticism on judiciary, saying the judiciary never tried to play the role of administration or parliament.
Addressing the 26th Roll Signing Ceremony in Karachi, the chief justice clarified that it was the statutory and constitutional responsibility of the judiciary to safeguard democracy from being distorted and disrupted by state elements for their vested interests. “The judiciary has a definite role to play for effective administration of justice for the establishment of a just society, based on respect for law.”
He added that the Pakistani judicial system was the strongest backer of democracy, which enjoyed full confidence and faith of legal fraternity, other institutions, media as well as the public at large.
The CJ said the role of judiciary was not that of an opposition to the legislature or the executive, however, in cases of unauthorised actions in utter violation of constitutional norms, the judiciary had to responds through exercise of judicial review. He said the judiciary had the constitutional mandate to annul any act, whether it being an act of parliament or action taken by a state functionary that transgressed constitutional limits.
“The role of judiciary in the democratic governance of Pakistan is more of a check against constitutional transgressions than just an adjudicator in settling bilateral quarrels and disputes,” he maintained. The system of delivery of justice in Pakistan was facing various challenges, including complex legal procedures, out-dated laws, delays, unnecessary costs, high court fees and corruption, he said. “Corruption being most significant of them is impinging upon the process of fair dispensation of justice. No matter how much prudence is poured in analysing the problems, complete and instant cure is very unlikely to be achieved. However, adherence to the high standards of impartiality, integrity and accountability can at least mitigate opportunities for corruption,” the CJ said.
