Court can direct legislature to amend laws: Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry

In what appeared to be another warning to the government, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Monday said that the judiciary could direct legislatures to amend laws, rules and regulations according to the Constitution.

Addressing the lawyers community, the top judge of the country said that courts although couldn’t legislate but they could at least set standards through judgments to serve as guidelines for legislatives assemblies for making necessary amendments.

In his view, the judiciary was the ultimate defender of citizens’ rights and liberties.

He further observed, “The judiciary was fully alert and responsive to people’s grievances and sufferings. The nation reposed confidence in the judiciary and it was the duty of judges and lawyers to act as a bulwark against constitutional excesses and arbitrariness in order to make Pakistan a welfare state”.

Expressing the hope that the newly built Judicial Complex will have far-reaching effects on the administration of the justice by bringing all sub-ordinate courts under one roof, he said the association played a key role in promoting and safeguarding the rule of law in the country.

He asserted, “Law is a dynamic process and it changes shapes, in line with changing realities and emerging challenges. The judges are required to improve their skills through continuous learning by means of legal training and research and thereby improving their understanding of the law”.

Commenting on the global world, he said that the laws of the land bear direct and indirect impacts on the law of the other countries. In the time of technology, he said internet provides prompt access to the rulers and regulations and judicial verdicts of almost all the countries.

He remarked, “Therefore, it is the need of the hour that the Judges learn the basic skills of web browsing and thereby acquaint themselves with the legal research databases and methodologies so as to have latest information about the changing trends in substantive and procedural laws of the foreign countries”.

Chief Justice Chaudhry further stated that the National Judicial Policy (NJP) indeed furnishes the platform for both the Bench and the Bar to cooperate and coordinate each other for achieving the objective of effective and efficient system of administration of justice in the country.

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Posted by Faisal Farooq on Jul 17 2012. Filed under National, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.