Lahore High Court Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial has said it is a constitutional duty of the bar representatives to attend the meetings of the judicial commission constituted for the appointment of judges.
He urged the bar representatives to present their point of view in the upcoming meetings of the judicial commission instead of boycotting it.
The Pakistan Bar Council has withdrawn its representation from the JC, accusing the latter of not taking into consideration the bar recommendations.
Bandial was speaking at a reception given by the Lahore High Court Bar Association for Delhi High Court Bar Association President Amarjit Singh Chandhiok. LHC judges, LHCBA members and Indian lawyer SC Laadi were present.
The CJ said lawyers had played a distinguished role in upholding the rule of law in the country in the wake of the lawyers movement and their achievement had been acclaimed the world over. He said the lawyers community had sacrificed lives for establishing the rule of law. He said: “We are still facing challenges and will continue to face them in future.”
He asked the bar leaders to ignore petty differences. He praised lawyers for helping clear the backlog of cases and said that with the active assistance of advocates, eight districts had achieved zero pendency of cases. He said it was the duty of the bar and the bench to alleviate the sufferings of litigants.
Chandhiok said: “We all belong to Allah. He made us human beings so we should respect each other. The process of learning must go on.”
He said although technology had changed much, the process of learning through traditions of the legal fraternity should go on.
He said if the legal fraternity worked hard, judges may be appointed the International Court of Justice from India and Pakistan. He stressed the need for supporting rule of law, saying that it brought discipline and curtailed litigation in the society.
He said: “It is time to wake up. Lahore and Delhi are standing together. We will remain together for the provision of justice.”
He stressed the need for cordial relations between the bar and the bench. He said the romance between husband and wife produced children but the romance between lawyers and judges led to peace and harmony.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 9th, 2013.