LAW & JUSTICE COMMISSION OF PAKISTAN
Secretariat
The Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan (LJCP) is a statutory federal institution established in 1979 to keep under review on systematic basis, the statutes and other laws of the country, with a view to make recommendations to the Federal and Provincial Governments for improvement, modernization and reforms thereof, and recommendations to Government for inexpensive and expeditious dispensation of justice. It is headed by the Hon’ble Chief Justice of Pakistan/Chairman and comprising upon the Hon’ble Chief Justices of the Federal Shariat Court and High Courts, Attorney General for Pakistan, Secretary to the Ministry of Law and Justice, Chairperson to the National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) and four other members/Jurists from each province.
The LJCP has so far approved 138 reports on law reforms and submitted the same to the Government for legislation to amend the statutes, accordingly. The LJCP is assisted by its Secretariat supervised by the Secretary. The Secretariat also operates a legal awareness scheme, where under Urdu write-ups on legal issues of public interest are published for public awareness. The write-ups prepared so far have been compiled and published in Seven volumes under the title “Qanoon Fahmi”.
The Commission is empowered to support the implementation of reforms in order to strengthen the rule of law generally and justice service delivery in particular. To this end, the Law and Justice Commission conducts both research in house and collaborates with other local and international bodies and private sector organizations and individuals to inform and conduct research and policy analysis and lead advocacy efforts to implement reforms. Therefore, the Commission welcomes comments, views and suggestions from research institutions, professional bodies, jurists, scholars, researchers and general public for law reforms, improvement in administration of justice, standard of legal education and protection of human rights.
National Judicial (Policy Making) Committee (NJPMC)
The Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan (LJCP) Secretariat also provides assistance to the National Judicial Policy Making Committee (established under the Ordinance No. LXXI of 2002) to accomplish its mandate. The NJPMC is headed by the Hon’ble Chief Justice of Pakistan being Chairman and members included the Chief Justice of Federal Shariat court and High Courts. The Committee is mandated to formulate policy for improving the capacity and performance of the administration of justice. Since its establishment, the NJPMC has passed creditable directions to justice sector stakeholders for administration of justice to ensure inexpensive and expeditious justice. The NJPMC framed National Judicial Policy, monitoring performance of Judiciary (including special courts and tribunals) in terms of disposal and pendency and clearance of backlog, directives for establishment of Green Benches in the Superior Courts, clearance of pendency of Tax cases, instructions for non-production of under trial prisoners before the courts for trial/remand, redressed pathetic living conditions in prisons, emphasized welfare of children confined in jails with their mothers, ensure timely completion of investigations and submission of challans within the stipulated period, dilapidated conditions and congestion in jails has also been redressed, etc.
Under the auspices of the NJPMC, the Secretariat has been organized seven Judicial Conferences so for to provide a forum to law officers, researchers and legal academia of the country and international luminaries to interact, share experiences and evolve policies and strategies to address the problems faced by justice system. Further, under the umbrella of the NJPMC, the Secretariat also organizes workshops, seminars and consultative meetings/sessions to have concrete suggestions for inexpensive and efficient administration of justice.
National Judicial Automation Committee (NJAC)
The National Judicial Automation Committee (NJAC) is a Sub-committee of National Judicial (Policy Making) Committee (NJPMC) which was reconstituted on 2 September 2016 to integrate all the courts through information technology and standardize the automation activities across the judiciary. The Committee is headed by Hon’ble Mr. Justice Mushir Alam Judge Supreme Court of Pakistan and other members include Hon’ble Judges from Federal Shariat Court and High Courts. Some of the achievements are;
- Integration of High Courts and Federal Shariat Court with the Supreme Court of Pakistan
- Categorization of Cases on a standard pattern
- Compilation of Advocates Data
- Developed IT Training Manuals for Judicial Officers & Court Staff
- Web services integrating the Federal Shariat Court and High Courts with the Supreme Court of Pakistan to avoid conflicting cause list and provide Status of Appeals pending in the Supreme Court wherein judgments of the Federal Shariat Court/High Courts are challenged in the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
Provincial Justice Committees (PJCS)
The Provincial Justice Committees (PJCs) is a Sub-committee of National Judicial (Policy Making) Committee (NJPMC). The Hon’ble Chairman NJPMC has reconstituted Provincial Justice Committees (PJCs) in the provinces vide approval dated 20.6.2015 and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) vide approval dated 5.8.2015. The PJCs are headed by respective Hon’ble Chief Justices of High Courts while Secretary Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan (LJCP) is Secretary of all the PJCs. The core function of the Justice Committees is to enhance coordination between the respective rule of law/justice sector institutions.
Access to Justice Development Fund (AJDF)
The Government of Pakistan has established a statutory endowment of rupees 1,421 million Access to Justice Development Fund (AJDF) with a view to address the issue of budgetary constraints faced by the judicial and legal sectors in Pakistan. The AJDF is an independent source of income for judiciary to invest in the neglected areas to strengthen the professional functionality of the courts and its service delivery component and legal empowerment. The AJDF is located in the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan (LJCP), which provides secretarial support to the AJDF. The LJCP has constituted a Governing Body with a mandate to manage and administer the Fund, which is also headed by the Hon’ble Chief Justice of Pakistan. The AJDF has Seven Windows for disbursing and extending funds for easy access to justice, the said windows have share percentage for allocation from the profit on investments to be allocated for each year.
SUPREME COURT OF PAKISTAN
The Supreme Court of Pakistan is the apex Court of the country, exercising original, appellate and advisory jurisdiction. It is the Court of ultimate appeal and therefore the final arbiter of law and the Constitution. The dictums laid by it are binding on all other courts and the executive authorities are required to act in its aid. Part VII, Chapter 1 & 2 of the Constitution (Article 175 to 191) deals with the composition, jurisdiction and rules of procedure of the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court comprised of a Chief Justice and sixteen judges. It has a permanent seat at the Federal Capital with branch registries at provincial headquarters. The Chief Justice and judges are appointed by the President on the recommendations of Judicial Committee from amongst persons having five years experience as a judge of a High Court or fifteen years standing at Bar as an advocate of a High Court. The retiring age is 65 years.
Its multiple roles include resolving conflicts and disputes, be they among Governments (Federal/Provincial) or between Government and individuals or individuals inter-se. The Court is also a custodian and upholder of citizens’ rights, liberties and freedoms. Seen in this context, the Court indeed occupies a pivotal position in the constitutional dispensation, by playing the role of unifying and integrating the nation, its regions, institutions and communities. As guardian of the Constitution, the Court is required to preserve, protect and defend this basic document.
The Supreme Court enjoys financial autonomy and is empowered to make rules/procedure for regulation its own working.