Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar on Monday said the constitution is supreme and each organ of the state has to perform its duties and functions in accordance with the constitutional scheme.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the new judicial year of the Supreme Court, the CJP said, “Our constitution provides system of governance to be run by three organs of the state – the executive, legislature and judiciary – who derives their powers and authority from the constitution hence they have to perform their duties and functions in accordance with law and the constitutional scheme.”

He said the most vital aspect of a true democracy is the rule of law for which the independence of judiciary is a sine qua non. He said an independent judiciary administers justice according to the dictates of the constitution and the law and ensures protection of fundamental rights with a view to achieving the ultimate goal of ensuring social, economic and political justice.

He said independence of judiciary means that the judges must be independent from all kinds of influences from any side, be it the executive or by any other person or authority in the echelons of power. “We do not write judgments to please anyone … we do not write judgments to settle scores, we render judgments in the fine scales of justice,” the CJP said.

Under the constitution, he said, the judiciary is vested with the power to undertake judicial review whenever any authority or functionary of the state acts ultra vires the constitution or the law. “An official action or act which violates any of the provisions of the constitution or the law reflects arbitrariness which results in mis-governance, non-governance and consequently injustice,” he said.

He said the goal of justice will be achieved by upholding the supremacy of the constitution and rule of law in the country. “It is, therefore, imperative for us to safeguard and protect democracy as a system of our government because it is an acknowledged basic feature of our constitution,” the CJP said.

He said the apex court initiated suo motu proceedings in matters of great public importance involving violation of fundamental rights. He said 29,262 complaints were received by the Human Rights Cell established in the Supreme Court under the public interest litigation jurisdiction for redressal of grievances.

He said the bench and the bar must unite for a common purpose as the judicial system depends on the symbiotic relationship between bench and the bar. He said all the stakeholders of the system of administration of justice are required to work together to solve the heavy backlog as well as other problems.

Published in Daily Times, September 12^th 2017.