Chief Justice (CJ) Nasirul Mulk has said that true democracy would only flourish when the judiciary will actively ensure executive’s compliance with the content of the constitution.
He expressed these views at a full reference held at the Supreme Court on Thursday in memory of late Justice Mamoon Kazi, who passed away on April 2.
Speaking on the occasion, the CJ said that the late Kazi was a man of unparalleled legal acumen, who will especially be remembered for advocating for the rights of the marginalised. “While paying our respects to the departed, we will remember his contributions to the jurisprudence and his endeavours in furthering the cause of justice in Pakistan,” Mulk said.
He said that as a lawyer and judge, the late Kazi advocated the cause of labour and marginalised communities in the society through social action litigation.
“The late judge spent his life, as a lawyer and as a judge, fighting for the rights of the labour in society. As a lawyer, Justice Kazi represented trade unions in various class action suits against industrial employers, seeking improvement in working conditions and prioritizing workplace safety. He staunchly believed that labour could only improve its living standards and working conditions through collective actions of organised trade unions. He sought to instrumentally use law as a medium of social change, in his lifelong pursuit to improve the plight of workers,” the CJ said.
As a judge, the late Kazi gave many seminal decisions in service and labour laws, seeking to protect labourers from exploitation.
He emphasised that it was incumbent on every judge to check the excesses of administration and to protect people’s freedoms. “The modern Criminal Justice System is broadly tasked with meting out retributive justice while simultaneously protecting the rights of the accused. It is the obligation of a judge, as guardian of the text and spirit of the Constitution, to ensure that the rights of the accused are not violated in the process of criminal adjudication.”
He said that a true democracy would only flourish when judiciary will actively ensure executive’s compliance with the dictates of the constitution. “This liberal philosophy of tolerance and protection of constitutional democracy permeated in the late judge’s jurisprudence. “Justice Mamoon Kazi has left us with memories of his unwavering struggle for human rights and a jurisprudence that will continue to enlighten our search for justice, peace and prosperity in our society. The loss and emptiness left by his lordship’s demise will perhaps never be filled. However, let us vow today not to mourn but to strive purposefully upon the path of justice and steadfastness his life teaches us, the chief justice said.