LAHORE, June 15: Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Saturday said had the judgments of the Supreme Court been implemented in letter and spirit, the law and order situation in the country would not have been so worsened.

He said the judiciary undoubtedly played its role to maintain the law and order situation in Balochistan and Sindh by taking suo motu notices. He, however, regretted that judgments in both cases were not implemented.

The CJP said the courts could only pass judgments in accordance with the Constitution as they had no force to get their decision implemented. The judgments of the courts needed to be implemented in letter and spirit.

Justice Chaudhry was addressing a certificate distribution ceremony for district and sessions judges and Qazis of Balochistan, and newly recruited additional district and sessions judges of Punjab.

Senior puisne judge of Supreme Court Justice Tassaduq Husain Jillani, Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, Balochistan High Court Chief Justice Qazi Faiz Esa and LHC Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial also graced the ceremony held at Punjab Judicial Academy.

The CJP strongly condemned the attack on the residence of Quaid-i-Azam in Ziarat (Quetta) followed by blast in women university’s bus and shootout at Bolan Medical Complex where the injured students were shifted for treatment.

The chief justice said not only Balochistan but other parts of the country were suffering from the same situation. He pointed out that sack-packed bodies were still being found in Karachi.

He said a society could not flourish without supremacy of the Constitution and rule of law.

He said, “Rule of law ensures that all the governmental institutions function in accordance with established principles and within their legal domain.” If any of the institutions transgressed its powers or attempted to enter into the domain of other institution, it undermined the rule of law, he added.

Justice Chaudhry said the government institutions should not be used for individual benefits and personal gains. He said the state policies should be prepared in a transparent manner with the sole objective of establishing good governance in the country. He said the Supreme Court had always stressed upon the need for adherence to the dictates of the Constitution and the observance of the rule of law. He said the Constitution and democratic polity there under would find it difficult to sustain, if the judiciary failed to preserve the said trust.

The CJP said the July 31, 2009 judgment of the Supreme Court followed by other verdicts, rendered much needed support in blocking the way of the future military adventurers and dictators and in sealing the eras of taking supra-constitutional steps, which, in the past, were endorsed and upheld each time in the garb of the principle of “law of necessity” or Kelson’s theory of ‘revolutionary legality’.

He said successive judgments of the SC had clearly laid down that the welfare of the people lay in following the Constitution in letter and spirit, and in no other manner or method.

He said SC also appreciated the role of the then parliament in not endorsing or validating the unconstitutional and illegal actions of Nov 3, 2007.

He advised the new judges to conduct themselves in a manner so that their reputation amongst the litigant public would be one of a “good judicial officer.” He said deciding a case and writing a judgment for a judicial officer was like appearing in an examination, as the judgment and not the arguments of lawyers would be tested in a higher forum in appeal.

Earlier in the morning, the CJP awarded practicing licences of SC to 23 lawyers. The ceremony was held at Lahore registry of the apex court.