Judicial policy
Tuesday, 07 Jul, 2009
IF implemented in letter and spirit, the Islamabad Declaration issued on Sunday could change Pakistan’s judicial scene, though one shouldn’t underestimate the challenging nature of the task. An operation to salvage the judiciary — its very image — was long overdue, for all constitutional institutions had sunk to such depths that the very idea of the rule of law appeared in danger of extinction. The restoration of the chief justice and the reinstatement of all those judges who had not taken the oath under the PCO promulgated by decree on Nov 3, 2007, will be regarded by history as milestones in the long road which the nation followed to establish the principle of judicial independence. Against this background the series of decisions taken on Sunday by a conference of judges and leading lawyers to implement the National Judicial Policy deserve to be welcomed, especially where they concern the judges’ social interaction, the need for clearing the backlog of undecided cases and removing corruption by holding the adjudicators accountable for their assets.
Clearing the backlog of cases is not an easy task, because there are 1.6 million cases pending. The reasons the conference gave for this huge number of pending cases include manpower shortage, the “scattered location” of courts, and loadshedding. While the first two points can be addressed by administrative action, there is little the courts can do about the third point. It is a national problem and seemingly unsolvable. The conference correctly noted that the implementation of the NJP was not possible without full commitment to it by the bench, the bar and the relevant government agencies. A representative of the bar also spoke of “incompetent judges” in reference to the oaths taken under the PCO and considered them an obstacle to the NJP’s implementation. One would like to caution all sides that the legal community has to stand by the principles it has been advocating publicly and act in a way that doesn’t smack of witch-hunting. The bench and the bar must look to the future and begin a new chapter in our judicial history instead of raking up the sordid past.
************************************************** ********
Expensive ‘gifts’
Tuesday, 07 Jul, 2009
PERVEZ Musharraf and Shaukat Aziz are very rich men. Yet, according to a series of revelations in The News, neither man could resist the temptation to leave office with hundreds of gifts presented to him by various heads of state and other officials during his tenure. The presents — everything from luxury watches to expensive handicrafts to exquisite jewellery — have a market value of tens of millions of rupees, but, according to obscure rules governing the claims to such gifts, were valued at a song and duly carted off by Gen Musharraf and Mr Aziz after paying a pittance. Rules may or may not have been broken, but, politically and morally, it looks very bad — yet another instance of the rich and the powerful in Pakistan making off with booty. There is absolutely no doubt what needs to be done: the gifts, each and every one of them, must be returned, they must be valued transparently and, if the rules allow it, the two must pay the fair price for whatever they want to purchase. Anything less and the stench of ‘legal’ corruption will not go away.
Will that happen? The former president and prime minister have kept quiet thus far, perhaps hoping that the furore will die down and they will continue to be able to live in comfort surrounded, perhaps, by their cheaply acquired expensive knick-knacks. They may even feel aggrieved for being ‘targeted’ and ‘victimised’. But the only ones who have a right to feel aggrieved are the luckless people of Pakistan. Gen Musharraf and Mr Aziz were supposed to be different; they were supposed to be clean in office; they were supposed to have been a decisive break from ‘dirty’ politicians. But it seems they were in fact all too willing to climb into the mud and have a good time.
************************************************** ********
Bloody childhoods
Tuesday, 07 Jul, 2009
THE easiest, and now customary, escape from tackling felonies as heinous as child rape is to pour scorn on depraved elements, offer compensation to their prey and move on, burying both the crime and punishment. In some incidents, these last rites involve a real burial such as that of three-year-old Sana who was allegedly raped and murdered by two police constables after she went missing last week. However, a true confrontation involves a battle with the state as it is a virtual accomplice in terminating countless childhoods — civil society’s long and seemingly endless struggle to have the Child Protection Bill endorsed by parliament continues.
The ‘law’ will shield innocent lives by preserving child rights and protection; a subject almost alien to the lower classes. The great contradiction remains the fact that Pakistan enjoys the status of being one of the first 20 countries that sanctioned the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in 1990. It can be asked then, that, as the authority responsible makes five-year reports on its implementation to the UN committee on child rights mandatory, what the state has to say for its children, and secondly, why the delay in the enactment of the bill into law has not been condemned by international bodies. Also, it is the government’s duty to overhaul the almost non-existent forensic and medico-legal facilities so vital to the dispensation of justice.
Regrettably, there is precious little to not only prevent but to assuage the wounds of despicable offences. Child victims and their hapless families often face a long, arduous road to justice and recovery. The most destructive consequence is that child abuse breeds future offenders as the child and his/her family grapple with the sense of violation without help such as counselling by qualified personnel who visit the home. This can prevent aftermaths including depression, anxiety, low self-esteem and fractured adult relationships. Lamentably, little Sana’s case threatens to be yet another police crime; and if the perpetrators go scot-free, it may once again see the public taking the law into its own hands as it did this time. The journey to justice becomes all the more onerous and perilous when it involves its own ‘custodians’. After all, how long can an impoverished family hold out against criminals who may be members of the police and what mechanism ensures that the police department will not do all it can to wash its hands of Sana’s blood? It is this helplessness that spawns mob justice — it would do the authorities some good to bear previous gory incidents of mob fury in mind.
************************************************** ********
OTHER VOICES - Sindhi Press Democracy linked to dispensation of justice
Tuesday, 07 Jul, 2009
CHIEF Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry while addressing the Judicial Policy Council linked change in society to the supremacy of law and economic development. Undoubtedly democratic institutions play a fundamental role in the development of a society but the judiciary has to ensure speedy justice. Strengthening of democracy and the dispensation of justice are two major issues Pakistan needs to deal with. In order to do so we have to critically assess our political history, upon which the role of the establishment in suppressing the democratic rights of the people becomes quite clear.
The people of Pakistan have continued their struggle for the restoration of their political and democratic rights but the establishment has repeatedly thwarted the democratic process. It has managed to find elements which raised their voice for the people but were in fact tools of the establishment.
This made the leadership dependent on the establishment and their roles became intertwined. At times elected government under public pressure successfully made pro-people decisions but such decisions were not acceptable to the establishment. No wonder then that military dictators who had little knowledge about political affairs were able to impose their decisions on the people. Dictators suit the establishment.
The establishment has not favoured the supremacy of law. It has hindered the evolution of the political and judicial system creating a trust deficit among the people. Gen Musharraf with the collaboration of the establishment reduced the independence of the judiciary. Judges, including the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, were arrested which made people feel helpless. It was only when an elected government came to power that there was a chance to undo the damage done to the judiciary. The judiciary’s role is important for creating confidence among the people for sustainable democracy.
The country is in dire need for an independent, effective and efficient system of justice which addresses the problems of the people and safeguards their rights. Hence a difficult task lies ahead for the judiciary. Surely the dispensation of justice is the key to strengthening democracy and putting an end to the class-based system. — (July 3)
Selected and translated by Sohail Sangi