Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry has said every institution is bound to respect the constitution.
Addressing the Abbottabad Bar Saturday he said lawyers have proved that the constitution is supreme.
He praised the incumbent Parliament for not approving the illegal steps taken by a dictator in the past.
The CJP said Pakistan today has become a civilized country and the system should run under law and constitution.
He went on to say that the Judiciary alone cannot impart justice without proper assistance of the lawyers. Therefore, the steps necessary for the smooth running of the system of administration of justice must be undertaken, he urged.
He held that in Islam “Justice” is considered to be an attribute of Allah Almighty and a religious duty.
Everybody is treated equal before the law, irrespective of his position in the society, he added.
He observed the Courts alone cannot impart justice without proper assistance of the lawyers and other stakeholders.
Citing to lawyers movement for independence of judiciary he noted that the unprecedented, unique historic lawyers’ movement has taken the country to such an exalted position that the whole world has never witnessed such glory before.
He remarked this unprecedented struggle not only earned the glory but also changed the image of our country in the eyes of the whole world.
It was because of this that in May 2012, the International Council of Jurists, conferred an award to me, in recognition of the contribution for the struggle of rule of law and administration of justice, which indeed was the recognition of the struggle of all you people lawyers, citizen and of course the media, he added.
He further said “it is right of the people to get justice and the judges are striving hard to deliver the justice to the best of their abilities. In this regard a National Judicial Policy was formulated in consultation with all the stakeholders of the system of administration of justice to make sure the eradication of corruption, independence of judiciary, reduction of backlog of cases, he added.
He stated the judges of the superior as well as district judiciary are doing untiring efforts to deal with the issue of backlog of cases.
He added if there is peace and justice in the society, constitution and the rule of law is being protected, then we can overcome any difficulty. If the courts are doing justice even handedly without any discrimination then no power of the world can defeat us.
He observed Pakistan is fortunate in having fundamental law, which enjoys brought consensus of all regions, segments of society, political parties and groups. This fundamental law which prescribed the main principles of administration also reflects the aspiration of the people of Pakistan.
He asserted the superior judiciary and especially the Supreme Court is aware of its role, assigned to it by the Constitution to protect and safeguard the legal and fundamental rights of all citizens and check the acts of mal-governance, illegal or malafide or arbitrary or discriminatory exercise of powers by authorities or institutions through the exercise of its power of judicial review.
