LAHORE: Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry has said energy of the judiciary is being consumed due to inability of other state institutions and public functionaries to carry out their constitutionally mandated duties.
Addressing a ceremony held by the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) in his honour here on Saturday, he said the judiciary came into action not because of choice but because of the compulsion to discharge a duty in these circumstances.
"We are often faced with situations where the executive shows intransigence in submitting to the principles of rule of law and act in arbitrary manner, then the people take to the recourse to the judiciary which is obligated to take up the matter, resolve the issue and grant relief", he added.
He said the judiciary neither had the ability nor mandate to reform other pillars of the state but it was our prime constitutional duty to enforce fundamental rights besides ensuring that the state and society was governed under constitutional norms.
The CJP said reformed and developed governance system would enormously reduce a burden of the courts and usher in an era of economic development and political stability.
He said all political forces, the civil society, media and every one must rise above personal or group interests and adhere to constitutional norms to surmount every challenge with ease.
The chief justice of Pakistan said it was the utmost duty of both the bench and the bar to keep a relationship based on mutual respect.
The CJP said the National Judicial Policy was formulated to ensure inexpensive and expeditious justice. The words of the policy are not a final verdict, it had been reviewed and further improvements would be brought after consultation, he said.
Replying to some concerns raised by president Lahore High Court Bar Association Asghar Ali Gill, he said small and petty issues regarding temperament of the judges should not be raised openly and if there was any thing then it should be discussed in chamber.
He asked the chief justice Lahore High Court to take up the matter with the provincial government about official grant for the LHCBA.
Speaking on the occasion, president LHCBA Ashgar Ali Gill expressed concerns regarding some judges of the LHC and demanded the CJP to address the issue.
He said the Lawyers were ignored in recent elevation to the judiciary and demanded the CJP to fill the vacant slots as soon as possible.
The ceremony was also attended by Supreme Court's Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, LHC Chief Justice Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry, IHC Chief Justice Iqbal Hameed-ur-Rehman, LHC Justice Sh. Azmat Saeed.
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