ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry said on Tuesday that it was a “wrong notion” that administration of justice in a country like Pakistan was “the sole duty of courts or the legal fraternity”.

“For such a wrong notion, the allied institutions have started feeling relaxed as a result whereof good governance is being compromised,” the chief justice said at a full-court reference held to bid farewell to Justice Sardar Mohammad Raza Khan, who retired on Tuesday. “Judiciary’s main concern is to strengthen the institutional framework for the rule of law to command public respect and to remain independent and sensitive to the suffering of the people. Only by adhering to these principles, good governance could be achieved,” the chief justice emphasised.

He said that when any of the three organs of government, legislature, executive and judiciary, became ineffective or was not working according to its constitutional mandate, lack of good governance resulted.

The duty of the judiciary, the chief justice said, was to preserve and protect the constitution, interpret laws, enforce fundamental rights and settle disputes. Without an independent, impartial and effective judiciary, a civilised society is hardly conceivable.

“A country cannot claim to have good governance without providing easy, affordable, speedy and impartial justice to the people. A sound judicial system and good governance are key factors in stability and economic growth of a country,” the chief justice said.

Attorney General Anwar Mansoor said the judicial branch in the equation of power between the three pillars had been the weakest, by design, and the least powerful.

“The executive not only dispenses the honours, but also holds the sword of the community, while the legislature not only commands the process, but also prescribes the rules by which the duties and rights of citizens are to be regulated.”

The judiciary on the contrary, the AG said, had no influence either over the sword or the purse, no direction either of the strength or the wealth of society and could take no decision whatsoever. He said the judiciary only passed judgment and ultimately depended on the aid of the executive arm even for the efficacy of its judgments.

Supreme Court Bar Association President Qazi Mohammad Anwar expressed dismay over what he called indifferent attitude of the federal government to implementation of the apex court judgment on NRO. He said the government was earlier waiting for the detailed verdict, but after its release Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani stated in parliament that he had issued orders for implementation of the judgment and that the judgment could not be implemented against President Asif Zardari because he enjoyed immunity under the Constitution.

“The prime minister’s statement poses serious threat to the system, especially to democracy, rule of law and constitutionalism,” Qazi Anwar said, adding that decisions of the Supreme Court had an inbuilt mechanism of execution and did not require approval or directives of the prime minister.

“The prime minister’s statement suggests that it is he who has to decide what portion of the judgment is to be implemented and which portion is to be kept pending. We do not accept any supervisory role of the prime minister,” the SCBA president added.

Another area of concern for the legal fraternity, Qazi Anwar said, was about recommendations of the chief justice for appointments of judges in the Supreme Court, including an ad hoc appointment. The government, he said, had violated the Constitution by making such recommendations public and disputed.

He also expressed concern over non-implementation of recommendations made by the chief justices for filling vacancies in high courts. “Efforts to divide us have failed in the past and efforts to blackmail us in the name of proposed constitutional amendments are bound to fail,” he said. Qazi Anwar said that a meeting of the National Coordination Council at the Rawalpindi High Court Bar Association on Feb 14 would review these issues.

The chairman of the Pakistan Bar Council’s Executive Committee, Chaudhry Nasrullah Warraich, and Justice Raza Khan also spoke at the full-court referenceLINK.