CJP directs to expedite legislation process for Operationalisation of FJA as Centre of Excellence

ISLAMABAD: Showing his unflinching determination for the promotion of quality legal and judicial education in the country Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk, directed that urgent steps should be taken to expedite the legislation process in order to make the Federal Judicial Academy fully functional as the Center of Excellence for Law and Judicial Education.

The CJP expressed these views while presiding over the 39th meeting of the Board of Governors of the Federal Judicial Academy in the Supreme Court Building, said a press release issued here.

He said, "at present, our entire focus in on this very important point to make the Federal Judicial Academy virtually functional as the Center of Excellence ( CoE) and then time will come and it will be considered to convert this CoE into the Federal University of Law and Judicial Education and for the attainment of this long avowed goal the Law Ministry has to put in practice its pragmatic efforts so that the CoE, which is of utmost importance, becomes a reality."

In order to improve the legal education and judicial training quality and efficiency and also to enhance better coordination among the Federal Judicial Academy and provincial judicial academies, the Board also decided that a committee called "National Judicial Education Coordination Committee," headed by the senior most Chief Justice of the High Committee and comprising all the directors general of the Federal Judicial Academy and provincial judicial academies should be constituted.

"Increased consistency and sharing of standards are required. This committee has to be futuristic. It has to strategies and plan trainings and sort out other issues of mutual interest. This multitasks- committee has also to examine the syllabus and Annual Judicial Training Calendar. It has to standardize and redesign the ACR for the judicial officers, etc. Such like committee is the need of the hour," the CJP observed.

Lauding an item on the agenda regarding the Mobile Training Course for the district judiciary judges in all four provinces, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan the Chairman and BoG members said, ?Such like trainings are crucial for the intensive and effective capacity building of the judicial officers in very important subjects such as Sentencing, Communication skills, ADR/ Reconciliation, Case and Court management, Budget making and preparation.

The proposed National Judicial Education Coordination Committee has to reflect on various aspects for these trainings because maximum number of judicial officers can benefit from these trainings at their respective duty stations.

The BoG also took up other matters placed on the agenda like approval of budget of the Academy, provision of amenities in family court and training of family court judges, Concept Paper on Strategy/ Action Plan to operalitionize the CLEJE, (Draft) FJA Service Rules, 2007, uniform draft rules for linking confirmation/promotion of judicial officers with training requirement, etc. and discussed at length.

The BoG received the progress report on completion of Phase ?II extension building of the FJA and directed for its early completion.

The BoG also approved amendment in the Allocation of Accommodation of rates in the FJA hostel.

The meeting was attended by Pervaiz Rashid, Federal Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs/Vice Chairman, BoG, FJA, and members: Justice Maqbool Baqar, Chief Justice, High Court of Sindh, Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel, Chief Justice, Peshawar High Court, Justice Kh. Imtiaz Ahmad, Chief Justice, Lahore High Court, Justice Muhammad Noor Meskanzai, Chief Justice, High Court of Balochistan, Justice (R) Muhammad Raza Khan, Special Secretary, Ministry of Law, Justice & Parliamentary Affairs, and Dr. Faqir Hussain, Director General, Federal Judicial Academy.

Justice Muhammad Anwar Khan Kasi, Chief Justice, Islamabad High Court, Haq Nawaz, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Finance ( on special invitation), and Khalid Amin Khan Tareen, Director ( Administration), FJA also attended the meeting.