PR No. 153 Islamabad

The Hon’ble Chief Justice of Pakistan (HCJP) holds marathon meetings of the National Judicial (Policy Making) Committee (NJPMC) and the Governing Body, Access to Justice Development Fund (AJDF).

            HCJP orders establishment of special cells in the Supreme Court of Pakistan and High Courts to receive complaints of overseas Pakistanis for redressal of their grievances;

            HCJP asked the Chief Justices of High Courts to come up with concrete proposals to minimize delays in litigation;

            HCJP took serious notice of delay in completion of the Islamabad Jail Project;

HCJP critically reviewed performance of Special Courts / Tribunals and showed displeasure on huge backlog and slow pace of disposal of cases in such courts;   

Today, marathon meetings of the Governing Body, AJDF and NJPMC were held in the Conference Room, Supreme Court of Pakistan under the Chairmanship of Hon’ble Mr. Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, Chief Justice of Pakistan/ Chairman, Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan (LJCP)/Governing Body, AJDF/NJPMC. Meetings of these bodies were held after a gap of years. The meeting started at 12 noon and continued till 5pm.

In his introductory remarks His Lordship, the Hon’ble Chief Justice of Pakistan stated that the judiciary is an important pillar of the State. The other pillars i.e. Executive and Legislature are also equally important for existence of any State. In modern world, there is no concept of State without existence of any of these three important state organs.

His Lordship emphasized that for an expeditious dispensation of justice, the development and reformation of laws is crucial. He stated that the LJCP is a forum which is primarily mandated to review on a continuing systematic basis the statutes and other laws of the country for their reformation. The Hon’ble Chairman stated that with the passage of time laws become redundant and many statutes which are part of our statute books need reformation. For this purpose we have to revamp the LJCP for effectively implementing its mandate. He asked the Hon’ble Chief Justices of the High Courts to suggest ways and means to bring the LJCP in line with its objective.

The Hon’ble Chairman observed that there is a general perception that justice is not being provided to the common person therefore the judiciary should dispel this perception and make efforts to restore the credibility of justice system by improving its service delivery and expeditious dispensation of justice.

The meeting of the Governing Body, AJDF was attended by Mr. Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan, former Judge Supreme Court of Pakistan/Member Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan and Chairman Rules Committee Access to Justice Development Fund (AJDF) and other Hon’ble members Mr. Justice Muhammad Anwar Khan Kasi,  Chief Justice, Islamabad High Court,
Mr. Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Chief Justice, Lahore High Court, Mr. Justice Ahmed Ali M. Sheikh Chief Justice, High Court of Sindh, Mr. Justice Yahya Afridi Chief Justice, Peshawar High Court, Mr. Justice Muhammad Noor Meskanzai Chief Justice, High Court of Balochistan, Mr. Tariq Bajwa Secretary, Government of Pakistan, Ministry of   Finance, Mr. Karamat Hussain Niazi, Secretary Ministry of Law and Justice and Mr. Arbab Muhammad Arif, Registrar, Supreme Court of Pakistan / Secretary Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan.

The meeting of the NJPMC was attended by the Hon’ble Mr. Justice Sh. Najam ul Hassan designated Chief  Justice of the Federal Sharait Court and Hon’ble Chief Justices of the High Courts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Governing Body, AJDF accorded approval for release of fund to the High Court of Sindh for executing special projects in the designated underdeveloped areas. The Hon’ble Chief Justice of Pakistan urged that this important resource should be utilized 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 Hon’ble Chief Justice of Pakistan requested the Hon’ble Chief Justices of the respective High Courts to urge the District Judiciary to utilize 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, ADJF 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 Hon’ble Chief Justice of Pakistan stated that good decisions if not implemented properly are meaningless; therefore, being heads of the judiciary this is our responsibility to implement all decisions ambitiously with passion. The Chief Justices of the High Courts assured their full cooperation and support to achieve the objectives of effective administration of justice which is prerequisite for welfare of our beloved country.

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 Hon’ble Chief Justice of Pakistan ordered that this arrangement may be widely publicized in print and electronic media for general information.

The NJPMC reviewed the status of construction of Model Jail in Islamabad and showed displeasure on inordinate delay in completion of the Model Jail.  The Hon’ble Chief Justice of Pakistan asked the concerned for early completion of project to address the problem of prisoners of ICT who are presently confined in overcrowded Central Prison Rawalpindi.

The NJPMC reviewed the performance of the Administrative Tribunal/Special Courts and noted that large number of cases are struck up in such courts. The Committee observed that slow pace of disposal is major cause for piling up of backlog. The Hon’ble Chief Justice of Pakistan directed that six months’ performance report may immediately be sought from such tribunals/court for placing before the NJPMC.

The Hon’ble Chief Justice of Pakistan asked the Chief Justices of the Federal Shariat Court and High Courts to come up with concrete suggestions for minimizing delays in litigation right from civil court to the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

The Hon’ble Chief Justice of Pakistan resolved that the NJPMC will meet frequently to review the performance of the judiciary and other justice sector organisations to improve quality of justice.

This press release can be downloaded from our website www.ljcp.gov.pk.

 

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