ISLAMABAD, Aug. 12 (NNI): The Chief Justice of Pakistan, Mr. Justice Umar Ata Bandial, chaired the meetings of the National Judicial (Policy Making) Committee (NJPMC), Governing Body of Access to Justice Development Fund (AJDF), and the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan (LJCP) at the Supreme Court of Pakistan, Islamabad.
The meetings were organized by the Secretariat of Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan and Commission’s Secretary Riffat Inam Butt convened the meetings, said a press release received here today from Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan.
While chairing the meeting, the Chief Justice of Pakistan stated that for protection of fundamental rights the Judiciary is as relevant as it would be the constitutional requirement. The judiciary has to apply laws and protect the Constitution and fundamental rights of the citizens while the Commission has a vital role in reforming laws.
He remarked that the judiciary is committed to provide expeditious justice despite being confronted with challenges. The Chief Justice stressed upon the need to discourage false and frivolous litigation. The Hon’ble Chief Justice of Pakistan stated that ADR is a very important tool to reduce the burden of the courts by amicable settlement of disputes and appreciated the role of ADR Committee and the Commission for taking initiatives to ensure effective implementation of ADR framework in the country.
The Chief Justice also stressed upon the use of Information Technology by the judges, judicial officers, court staff and the Bar to enhance the service delivery of the justice sector. He stressed upon the need of capacity building and professional development of the judicial officers, lawyers and court staff. He urged the Chief Justices of the High Courts to take benefit of training programmes being imparted by the Federal and Provincial Judicial Academies.
The meeting of NJPMC was attended by the Chief Justice Federal Shariat Court, Mr. Justice Iqbal Hameed-ur-Rahman; Chief Justice, High Court of Balochistan, Mr. Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan; Chief Justice High Court of Sindh, Mr. Justice Ahmed Ali M. Shaikh; Chief Justice, Lahore High Court, Mr. Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti; Chief Justice, Islamabad High Court, Mr. Justice Aamer Farooq; and Acting Chief Justice, Peshawar High Court, Mr. Justice Mohammad Ibrahim Khan.
The meeting of NJPMC was also attended by the Inspectors General of Police of respective provinces and the ICT, Prosecutors General of Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Law and Justice, Islamabad, Additional Prosecutor General-Punjab, and the District Public Prosecutor-ICT.
The NJPMC reviewed the performance of justice sector institutions and judiciary in-line with its previous directions. The committee also reviewed institution, disposal and pendency of cases, vacancy positions in the judiciary, factors hindering the efficient administration of criminal justice system, particularly, issues relating to submission of challans, conviction and acquittals, statistics of under trial prisoners, issues of jail inmates and pending appeals of convicted prisoners were also discussed in detail to devise effective mechanism to address the issues.
While reviewing the data of pendency of cases, the Committee resolved that vacancies in the judiciary were required to be filled on priority basis for expeditious disposal of pending cases. The Committee also emphasized upon the need for training of Investigating Officers in Police and Prosecution to approve the quality of investigation and prosecution. NNI
