ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar on Saturday stated that there was a general perception that justice was not being provided to the common man. Therefore, the judiciary should dispel this perception and make efforts to restore the credibility of the justice system by improving its service delivery and expeditious dispensation of justice.
He said this while presiding over meetings of the National Judicial (Policy Making) Committee (NJPMC) and the Governing Body, Access to Justice Development Fund (AJDF), which were held in the Conference Room of Supreme Court Building. The meeting started at 12 noon and continued till 5pm.
The CJP said that for an expeditious dispensation of justice, the development and reformation of laws was crucial. He stated that the LJCP was a forum which was primarily mandated to review the statutes and other laws of the country on a continuing systematic basis for their reformation.
The chief justice stated that with the passage of time laws become redundant and many statutes which were part of our statute books needed reformation. “For this purpose we have to revamp the LJCP for effectively implementing its mandate,” he said.
The chief justice also ordered for establishment of special cells in the Supreme Court of Pakistan and high courts to receive complaints of overseas Pakistanis for resolving their grievances.
The chief justice also asked the chief justices of high courts to come up with concrete proposals to minimise delays in litigation.
Justice Mian Saqib Nisar also took serious notice of delay in completion of the Islamabad Jail project and critically reviewed performance of special courts/tribunals and expressed displeasure over the huge backlog and slow pace of disposal of cases in such courts.
The Governing Body, AJDF accorded approval for release of funds to the Sindh High Court for executing special projects in the designated underdeveloped areas. The chief justice of Pakistan urged that the important resource should be utilised for optimum benefit of the underdeveloped areas.
The Governing Body, AJDF approved the proposal of releasing funds to the District Legal Empowerment Committees (DLECs) established in 106 districts across the country for provision of free legal aid to the deserving litigants who despite having genuine cause are unable to pursue their cases in the courts.
The chief justice of Pakistan requested the chief justices of the respective high courts to urge the District Judiciary to utilise this valuable resource for its specified purposes.
The Governing Body, AJDF allowed the Secretariat of LJCP to launch the 10th phase of the AJDF inviting project proposals aimed at legal empowerment of the poor and underprivileged segments of the society.
The governing body also approved the Mobile Training Project of the Federal Judicial Academy for funding and reconstituted the Technical Evaluation Committee a body mandated to review and recommend projects for funding under the AJDF.
The NJPMC deliberated upon the agenda item regarding grievance of overseas Pakistanis/appointment of designated judges and resolved that cells to address the grievances of overseas Pakistanis will be created in the Supreme Court of Pakistan and all the high courts to receive the complaints of the overseas Pakistanis through email for redressal. The NJPMC reviewed the status of construction of Model Jail in Islamabad and expressed displeasure on inordinate delay in completion of the Model Jail. The CJP directed the officials concerned for early completion of the project to address the problem of prisoners of ICT. The NJPMC reviewed the performance of the Administrative Tribunal/Special Courts and noted that a large number of cases were pending in such courts.
The CJP asked the Chief Justices of the Federal Shariat Court and high courts to come up with concrete suggestions for minimising delays in litigation right from civil court to the SC.
