The legal structure of a country is important for socio-economic and political development and for the smooth functioning of the state’s organs. Human history dictates that when there was no system or set of laws, there was only the rule of jungle and the concept of survival of the fittest prevailed. There was a need to set proper rules that treated all humans equally, evenly and uniformly.
Therefore, the laws, the rules and regulations, the process through which they come into operation and the institutions that apply them comprise the legal framework of a country. In many countries the uncertainty in their application of law and its weak enforcement lead to creation of hindrance in their path towards progress, advancement and development. In the struggle against discrimination and the protection of socially weak and in distributing opportunities in the society, it is the law that makes an important contribution to an equitable and just society so a legal framework can prove to be very helpful in cementing the existing inequalities through law, because law is the regime that orders human activities and relations through systematic application of the force of politically organised society and an aggregate of legislation, judicial precedents and accepted legal principle.
So law should be responsible enough to protect the rights of every individual, regardless of the fact whether one is an accused or the victim. For instance, a victim should have a right to have his allegations investigated and to be informed regarding progress, protection from accused etc. Similarly, the accused should have a right to apply for bail if he has been detained and arrested etc.
The constitution of Pakistan, which is the supreme legal document, provides the legal and basic scaffold and structure. The three organs — legislature, executive and judiciary — and the authorities under them work transparently and are accountable, then the law can become effective and also the ineffective application of law can be made effective by evaluating and considering some of the following factors both at individual level as well as in society. When we talk about the law at individual level, the most dominant element in attaining justice is “equality” i.e., not only the rights of victim be protected but also that of the accused or offender and both shall have an equal right of representation in any dispute because a person who is rich and wealthy enough when charged even with a minor offence can hire an entire team of legal practitioners for his defence.
The constitution not only guarantees the rights but also protects them. The law enforcement agencies should enforce the laws properly and their system should be transparent and crystal clear because if the rights of an individual are protected it will result into automatic protection of rights of society at large. There should be a fine balance between protecting the rights and values of society and ensuring that individuals are not taking advantage of the process. This is only possible if there is proper implementation of rule of law combined with the integrity of judiciary.
Despite the fact that the legal framework already exists in our country, there is a need for a national strategy to formulate and shape our legal framework, including new legislative provisions provided any such legislation is justified fully by the government and is consistent with the rule of law and democratic principles. One may agree with Chief Justice Gerard Brennan: “In a democracy, the rule of law is not achieved by raw power but by the public acceptance of the law and by public confidence in institutions which promulgate and administer it.”
M YASIR KAYANI
Kasur
