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ISLAMABAD: A full court meeting of the Supreme Court presided over by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry on Wednesday vowed to defend, protect and preserve the Constitution and uphold the rule of law without fear or favour.
It said national salvation lay in applying the principle of rule of law and resisting any deviation from the Constitution.
The affirmation has been made at a time when a perceived confrontation between the judiciary and executive has touched an all-time high with civil society groups and political parties urging the government to implement superior court orders in letter and spirit.
The meeting was attended by Justice Javed Iqbal, Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan, Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, Justice Nasirul Mulk, Justice Mohammad Sair Ali, Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja, Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain, Justice Tariq Parvez, Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa, Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany, Justice Amir Hani Muslim and Justice Ghulam Rabbani. Supreme Court Registrar Dr Faqir Hussain and Additional Registrar Sajid Mehmood Qazi also attended the meeting.
The meeting discussed a proposal to introduce law clerkship in the Supreme Court to offer an opportunity to young and outstanding law graduates to work in the court.
It decided that Justice Khawaja would develop a concept paper which would be shared with other judges before a final decision to be taken at the next full court meeting.
The registrar informed the meeting that disposal of cases had registered a remarkable increase due to continuous work by judges even during the summer vacation.
The chief justice praised the commitment and devotion of all judges for sitting in various benches at the principal seat and branch registries.
Because of their efforts, he said, the backlog of cases had been reduced by more than 2,000.
He said the figure would have been much higher but the judges had to take up many important cases which were heard by the full court or larger benches over a long period.
The chief justice said people had high expectations of the independent judiciary since its restoration.
He said it was imperative upon both the bar and the bench to strive to ensure quick, inexpensive and substantial justice at all levels.
The chief justice and other judges acknowledged the services rendered by Justice Javed Iqbal who is due to retire at the end of this month. The chief justice said one reason for convening the meeting was to acknowledge the contributions made by Justice Iqbal and thank him for his outstanding career.
