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CE nominates 13-man committee to improve judicial system

MEHMUD AHMED

ISLAMABAD: Chief Executive Gen Pervez Musharraf has nominated a high-powered committee of 13 members mandating it to "take practicable steps for improvement of administration of justice", official sources said here. The mandate has a timeframe of 90 days.

The committee has resulted from the recommendations of Chief Justice Irshad Hassan Khan who is taking a personal interest in the matter and some three weeks ago wrote to the Government for expeditious action on his suggestions for legislative and administrative measures made in a recent judgement.

Official sources said the Committee has been summoned to meet here on April 30 under the chairmanship of Justice Faqir Mohammad Khokhar, Federal Secretary for Law, Justice and Human Rights. Other members are Federal Secretaries of Finance and Interior, Provincial Chief Secretaries, Registrar of the Supreme Court and those of the four High Courts. The Secretary of the Law Commission will act as Secretary.

Besides the suggestions of Chief Justice Irshad Hassan Khan, the Committee will have some six reports of National Law Commissions for its guidance. The Commission had also suggested urgent increase in the number of judges and judicial officers, possibility of enhancing the retirement age of judges, provide necessary funds for construction of proper court rooms, provision of ministerial staff, typewriters, stationery and above all computers.

In his letter the Chief Justice Khan has also laid stress on the pre- and in-service training of judicial officers, creation of libraries and provision of books and other material relating to the judicial systems. To attract capable, component and qualified persons to the judicial services, the Chief Justice has recommended that the present terms and conditions of service should be improved with a special emphasis on provision of accommodation and transport facility.

He has also expressed his dissatisfaction with the present system of process serving and asked the government to assign it to a separate agency placed under the control of high courts or the district courts. The services of such an agency should be used for process serving in civil and criminal cases.

The Chief Justice has also discussed the current problem of congestion in jails and recommended that the law relating to bail (i.e. Section 497 of the Criminal Procedure Code) should be amended, creating three categories:

The first; it should afford bail to a crime punishable for three years and the accused had been detained for a period exceeding six months but the trial has not yet concluded.

Second, when offence is punishable for a more than three years but excludes death penalty and the accused has stood trial for more than a year and, third, when offence is punishable with death and the accused has been in detention for more than two years but trial has not concluded.

The CJ has also urged the government to seriously consider suitable increase in the manpower of the police and take adequate measures to make them effective in the maintenance of rule of law.

The Chief Executive has also empowered the Committee of Secretaries to "earmark funds for "appropriate increase in the number of courts and provision of requisite paraphernalia like the court rooms, office equipment, libraries and support staff.