INSTALLATION CEREMONY OF OFFICE-BEARERS OF PESHAWAR HIGH COURT BAR ASSOCIATION

INSTALLATION CEREMONY OF OFFICE-BEARERS OF <!--[if gte mso 10]> INSTALLATION CEREMONY OF OFFICE-BEARERS OF PESHAWAR HIGH COURT BAR ASSOCIATION Address By Mr. Justice Sardar Fakhre Alam, Chief Justice, Peshawar High Court [1-6-1989] Mr. President, Brother-colleagues, members of the subordinate judiciary and the Bar! I am delighted to be among such distinguished gathering of lawyers on this auspicious occasion of the installation ceremony of the office-bearers of the Peshawar High Court Bar Association. Being a Judge chosen from the practising members of the Bar, it is a matter of personal happiness for me to address the legal fraternity. I thank most- sincerely the organisers of this function for providing me this unique opportunity. I extend heartiest congratulations to you Mr. President, and to other office-bearers of the Peshawar High Court Bar Association on assuming offices of great honour and responsibility and hope that you will discharge your responsibilities to the best of your ability, enhance the image of the Bar Association and set an example for others to, emulate. You represent an Association which has created history because as many as three of its members are at present holding prominent positions at the National and the Provincial level. It is for the first time in the history of this country that in the Federal Cabinet the .portfolio of Justice has been assigned to a member of your Association, namely Syed Iftikhar Hussain Gilani. Besides, another senior member Mr. Khan Bahadur Khan has joined the Federal Cabinet as a Minister for .Religious Affairs and Syed Masood Kausar has been elected as the Speaker of the N.-W.F.P. Assembly. The legal community occupies an exalted position in every civilized country and plays an important role in the functioning of a progressive society. Those who value justice as the foundation of a civilized society regard the lawyers as a pillar of justice. Muslim scholars relate the institution of lawyers to origins reaching back to the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him). It is a matter of common knowledge that Isalmic. law developed through the opinions and efforts of Muslim Jurists. The need for the lawyers is greater today than ever before. The social and economic structure is becoming more complex day by day giving rise to new problems and legislation is no longer confined to a few enactments. The assistance of a lawyer is becoming increasingly necessary in every field of activity. With the change of political scenario the legal fraternity is required to shoulder greater responsibilities than those hereto before shared. You are well aware of the efforts which are being made to bring the country back on the path of constitution and Rule of Law. It is a great challenge for-the fulfillment of which you are required to make contribution and I am sure you will make positive contribution. Your address, Mr. President, covers a very wide field and contains almost all' the things that can be said with profit to an audience like this. I shall, however, deal briefly with some of the points which essentially pertain to the administration of justice. It is a constitutional requirement that the Judiciary shall be separated from the Executive. We are all pledged to obey this command of the Constitution. The sooner it is brought about the better. I may further emphasise that the separation of the Judiciary from the Executive has become a pressing need in order to ensure the independent functioning of the Judiciary. I am told that some members of the Executive are under the impression that if their powers to take cognizance and try cases are taken away their prestige in public would suffer and it would be difficult to maintain law and order. I wish to take this opportunity to, remove these misgivings. In. any scheme for separation of Judiciary from the Executive the powers under the Criminal Procedure Code necessary, for the maintenance of law and order will remain with the Executive Magistrates.. As regards the issue of prestige it would suffice to say that Islam prefers piety to prestige and in an Islamic' democratic State the Executive Officers are the servants of the people and not their masters. Mr. President, I share your anxiety about lack of facilities for the judicial officers. The Federal Government has recently provided a sum of Rs.sixty lacs as grant-in-aid for construction of Court rooms and residences for the subordinate Judiciary and the Provincial Government has also undertaken to allocate a similar amount as matching fund but this amount is not sufficient to solve the problem of shortage of Court rooms generally and residential accommodation particularly. The Provincial Government was moved for providing transport facility to the District and Sessions Judges but the case has been put in the cold storage on the ground of financial constraints. The scheme for the construction of the new building of Circuit Bench Abbottabad is also in doldrums and has not so far been included in the Annual Development Programme. The reason is not far to seek. The Administrators at all levels regard investments in the improvement of judicial administration as non-productive expenditure. This approach is unrealistic as it not only overlooks the revenue earning role of the Courts but also offends against the concept of independence of judiciary. It is high time to change this approach in the interest of justice and public service. The problem of delay in dispensation of justice is neither new nor something special to this country. There has been an unprecedented increase in the volume of litigation with the result that the backlog has been mounting despite constant hard work on the part of the Judges. However, it is not such a problem that cannot be resolved. I am of the view that the menace of delay can be eliminated completely by proper planning and consistent efforts. The planning should cover the entire Judicial System with emphasis the separation of Judiciary from the Executive, increase in the number of Judges at all levels and provision of facilities to the 'subordinate judiciary. The efforts should be mainly directed towards the improvement of human factor namely the Judges, the Lawyers and the litigants who are equally responsible for law's delays. The lawyers seek adjournments for their own accommodation, the Courts are not averse to granting adjournments due to heavy workload and litigants resort to delaying tactics on obtaining interim relief of some kind. The delay can .be eradicated to a great extent if the Judges, the lawyers and the litigants seriously endeavour to put an end to it. This, however, does not mean that there should be undue haste. Speed must be balanced with fairness and courtesy to the Bar. The formation of the proposed Firms of Advocates would indeed go a long way in . solving the lawyer caused delays. The lawyers belong to a noble and a learned profession and if they want .to keep the noble traditions of their profession unsullied they should fallow the path of honesty, integrity and industry. They are officers of the Court and as such are required to avoid seeking unnecessary adjournments and to try their level best to help the Courts in administering quick and proper justice. They are supposed to be fair to their clients but at the same time they should be fair to the Courts and their predominant concern should be to ,advance the cause of justice. I am not here to give you a lecture on professional ethics but I must impress upon you that the profession you have chosen is noble and its lofty traditions are to be guarded jealously and not to be sacrificed by joining the race for accumulation of wealth. As regards inexpensive justice, it will be pertinent to note that it is fees-related whether it be court-fees or lawyer's fees. If the Government abolishes the court-fees and the lawyers suitably reduce their fees, justice would automatically become inexpensive and the common man will not resort to the "wild justice" alluded to in your address. Mr. President, I appreciate your concern about the construction of a Car Parking shed for Advocates and a waiting shed for the litigants within the premises of this Court and assure you that the matter will be sorted out at the appropriate level. It is obligatory for the Provincial Government to provide these basic facilities to the lawyers and the litigants who visit the Court. I also appreciate the progressive schemes highlighted by you in your address concerning the welfare of the legal community and assure you my full co-operation and assistance, whenever needed. In the end I thank you once again Mr. President for affording me a chance to be present at this colourful ceremony. May Almighty Allah bless you all with success. ***