OUTLINE
Introduction
Judiciary has an important role to play in a society. Unfortunately, the performance of Judiciary in Pakistan has been below expectations
Causes
Politicization of judiciary
Slow working in judicial system
Corruption
Fewer number of judges
Absence of exemplary punishments to culprits
Negative role of lawyers
Effects
Social and moral deprivation in people
Increase in crime rate Rise of terrorism
Less respect for laws in society
Fall in foreign direct investment
Corrupt people are not punished
Remedies
Speedy trial
Necessary changes in outdated laws Freedom of judiciary from political influence
Reforms in criminal justice system
Accountability of judges as per Article 209 of constitution Revival of executive magistracy
Conclusion
ESSAY
Judiciary has important role to play in a society. No country can make progress without impartial judiciary Where there is timely administration of justice. there is peace, harmony and equality Effective implementation of laws leads a country to the height of success Someone has rightly said, "Justice delayed is justice denied." There is chaos and anarchy where judicial forces fail to deliver. As fo as Pakistan is concerned, the performance of judiciary has not been up to the mark. Unfortunately, judiciary remained a mere puppet in the hands of dictators. feudalists and the elite of society Judiciary followed the principle of 'Might is right in the land of pure It often played Brutus in the name of doctrine of necessity. It will not be wrong to say that military dictators violated the constitution time and again Judges were always there to validate their illegal acts No doubt, there were some great judges like Justice Comelius who stood against dictatorial forces of time Overall, judiciary has remained a weak institution which badly failed to administer justice in the country Judicial system of Pakistan is out-dated and obsolete. There is red-tapism in judicial system People have to wait for years to get justice Bad and aggressive attitude of lawyers adds insult to injury Lawyers are not properly trained. They often fight with the government functionaries. They do not even spare judges when it comes to their vested interests. Similarly criminal justice system has certain flaws. There is no witness protection system There is no standard and criterion to ensure whose testimony is acceptable and whose not. It is quite surprising that there is no concept of accountability of judges in Pakistan Judges do not consider themselves accountable to anyone In such a situation, it becomes a far cry to maintain rule of law in society.
As every problem has some causes, political interference is the major cause of weak judicial system in Pakistan Politicians intrude into the functions of different institutions. Most of the government institutions are politicized Politicians influence the decisions of judges. They use their political might to protect their vested interests. Those judges who are not ready to have gloves in hand with the politicians are transferred from their respective posts. Some of the judges are their political friends want them to do in this way, the rich and powerful buy pointed on recommendations of politicians. They are always there to do what justice, while the poor and the weak keep on suffering at the hands of judges.
Moreover, slow working judicial system fails to dispense speedy justice in society. Pakistan's judicial system is out-dated Normally, a person files a petition and his son receives the decision of the court Owing to this, justice has become expensive in the country People have to pay heavy fees of lawyers Even then, their cases are decided after a long time. There are many countries in which every case. has a particular time limit. But, the situation is reverse in Pakistan Lawyers and judges do not work sincerely and people have to wait for years to seek justice.
There is rampant corruption in judicial system There are some issues regarding integrity of judges and their staff Not all but some of the judges take bribes and decide the cases in favour of bribers A few lawyers are in connivance with corrupt judges They ask the judges to decide the cases as per their desire Some of the judges think that they are not accountable to anyone They sell justice for worldly pleasures Besides, most of the laws are archaic Laws are complex and are not easily comprehended Even the decisions of the judges about similar cases vary Certain amendments are required in the laws to make them as per the requirements of modem age. For example, Factories Act, 1934 was introduced by the British Irony of the situation is that it is still enacted in Pakistan The law was made in 20th century to meet the needs of that time. The world has undergone rapid changes in this century So, such out-dated laws fail to address public concerns.
Furthermore, fewer number of judges hinder efficient working of judiciary Judges are few but cases are more A judge has to hear more than hundred cases per day. He has no other way but to postpone the cases till next hearing. There are serious flaws in recruitment process of judges. Currently, High Court appoints them, while in past, they were appointed by Public Service Commission So, there is no uniformity in their recruitment criterion. Recruitment of judges remains suspended for many years. But cases are registered on daily basis. As a result, this gap between number of judges and number of cases affects working of judiciary.
Likewise, there is scarcity of exemplary punishments Criminals commit crimes and violate the rights of others. The, kaow that they will be set free because of loopholes in judicial system in some cases, judges are reluctant to award strict punishments Judges know the security of their family members will be at stake it they take stern action against criminals. Many terrorists carry out terrorist attacks in different cities of Fastan. They hardly get treatment which they deserve owing to absence of exemplary punishment.
There are many effects of weak judicial system in Pakistan. Owing to slow working of judiciary, people feel socially and morally deprived. The rich are not held accountable. They are often set free even if they commit heinous crimes, while the poor get discriminatory treatment. They fail to get justice because it has become expensive Consequently, people from low strata of society do not find respectable place in society. They start thinking that words like ethics and morality are only found in the dictionary of fools. This mistrust about judicial forces widens the gap between people and the state. They take arms into their hands to get revenge which is a wild justice.
Crime rate also increases in society because judiciary has failed to dispense justice. Criminals commit crimes because they think that no one is there to stop them People register cases against the criminals. But they are not brought to book because of flaws in criminal justice system No one gets ready to give evidence against forces of evil because of fear of losing life This further aggravates the situation and criminals become brave to violate the rights of citizens. That's why, crime rate goes up in society
In the same way, severe faults in judicial system provide impetus to terrorist activities in the country Terrorists kill innocent people on daily basis Most of them are not arrested. Those who are arrested are exonerated without trial or any strict punishment Unusually, they get bail and never appear in the court again. It is also observed that police and prosecutors fail to prove charges levelled against them In the end, they keep on helping the forces of terror. It is common man who suffers at the hands of terrorists
It is said, "Where judiciary becomes a puppet in the hands of few, there is situation is prevalent in Pakistan People are not afraid of being penalized. They no respect for laws." People take pride in violating the laws of state. Same gloomy consider themselves superior to law They believe that law cannot take its own course in society. Such thinking may create chaos and anarchy in society What to think of common man even lawmakers are law-breakers in the country.
tranquillity in society Foreign invest in a peaceful country. As far as Pakistani society is concerned, the situation is volatile; law abettors are not Apart from it, rule of law is necessary to ensure peace, equality, harmony and punished. As a result, they spread fear and violence in society Owing to violent atmosphere, foreign investors are reluctant to establish their business in Pakistan Nowadays, foreign direct investment is at its lowest in history of the country. This pathetic state of affairs gives rise to unemployment and poverty in the country.
Last but not least, poor performance of judiciary encourages corrupt forces in the country. Currently, corruption is rampant in Pakistan. Certain civil servants, politicians and military officials embezzle public money. They spend government money on their personal affairs. They fill their pockets instead of spending money on public welfare. Some of them are caught red handed but their accountability remains a hard nut to crack. Presently, money laundering is a burning issue. If one observes, one hardly finds cases when exemplary punishments are awarded to culprits involved in corruption and money laundering in the country.
As every problem has pragmatic solutions, speedy trial in different cases can strengthen judicial system of the country There is a dire need to introduce a particular time limit to decide any case This will help in getting rid of unnecessary delay in provision of justice. Timely dispensation of justice will boost up people's morale. They will trust judicial system of the country Speedy justice will reduce crime in society Prompt decisions in different cases are required to maintain rule of law in the country
Secondly, there is no doubt that many laws in the country are out-dated Obsolete laws cannot address different issues of modern era Research can be conducted to get rid of unnecessary provisions in laws New sections can be inserted to bring law in conformity with changing trends of modem era In this way. judiciary can come up to people's expectation. It will also make judiciary effective and trustworthy in society. Its functioning will also be improved
Thirdly, judiciary cannot work properly, until it is depoliticized In Pakistan. politicians have developed a bad habit to influence public institutions. Politicized judiciary is a point in case Politicians force judges to be partial while deciding different cases It affects the performance of judiciary badly. So the government has an important role to play in this regard. It is the duty of government to keep politicians away from judiciary Only depoliticized judiciary can provide justice to all in the country Someone has rightly said, "Impartial judiciary can strengthen judicial forces in the country."
Fourthly, reforms in criminal justice system are inevitable There is weak witness protection system in the country Many people are ready to get their evidence recorded But they feel hesitant to appear in the court for evidence because of fear of criminals. It is quite rational that no one is ready to lose his life for the sake of provision of justice to others. It is high time government took practical steps.
Moreover, security of judges should also be enhanced in order to make them confident and impartial.
Fifthly. Article 209 of the constitution of Pakistan emphasizes on accountability of judges. Unfortunately, it has not been implemented in letter and spirit since 1973. Everyone talks about accountability of civil servants. No one wishes check on judges As a result, some of the judges think that they are not accountable They believe that they are infallible. It is the responsibility of government to implement Article 209 of the constitution. So that corrupt judges: should be punished and honest ones can be rewarded on merit.
Lastly, revival of executive magistracy can reduce the burden of judges. In past, summary trials were conducted by magistrates Last dictator abolished executive magistracy In this way, he added to the woes of judiciary. Nowadays, judges have to look into trivial issues which affect their working Executive magistracy can be re-introduced to facilitate day to day issues. Similarly, more Judges can be appointed to overcome shortage of judges in the superior and session courts. In the end, it can be said that a country cannot move ahead where justice is expensive.
To sum up, role of judiciary has always been important all over the world.
Those countries progressed where justice was provided to the people at door step.
While a few countries are still struggling to get a respectable place in the comity of
nations because there prevails the law of might is right. Unfortunately, Pakistan is
one of those countries where justice is beyond access of common man. Here, the
rich and the powerful get decision of cases in their favour On the other hand, the
poor have to wait for decades to get justice. There are serious faults in our judicial
system which needs to be corrected. Certain pragmatic steps are required to put the
things in order in this regard If one peeps into the history of subcontinent, judiciary
played a controversial role. In Pakistan, judiciary sided with the dictators on many
Occasions If Pakistanis want to become a great nation, strong, impartial and independent judiciary is inevitable.
