LAHORE, Dec 27: Federal Law Minister Wasi Zafar has invited proposals from bar associations, councils and lawyers for improving the legal and judicial system of Pakistan which was "far from satisfactory."

He was speaking at a seminar held by the Pakistan Institute of National Affairs (PINA) on the proposed amendments to the legal and judicial system at a hotel here on Sunday with Supreme Court Bar Association's former president Abid Hasan Minto in the chair. About a dozen eminent lawyers, former and present office-bearers of bar associations and retired judges attended the seminar.

The minister made it clear that the government had not so far drafted any formal bill for amending the penal and law procedure codes of Pakistan but there were some changes that he had suggested in the legal and judicial system in a letter addressed to the bar associations eliciting their opinion on the question how the system could be improved.

He said the present legal and judicial system of the country was far from satisfactory and it needed necessary changes for its refinement. Suggestions and amendments, if any, to the law codes could be sent to the law ministry's law committee for incorporation in the final draft.

He said his ministry intended to set up a centre of excellence comprising legal experts for framing new laws. At present it was the responsibility of some deputy secretaries and legal draftsmen. "We need good legal experts for the centre." he said.

He said the bar associations appeared to be more interested in political than legal affairs. They were welcome to continue their political role but they should also give their due attention to the legal affairs with a view to guiding the people and the government on improving and refining the legal and judicial system of the country.

They had been holding seminars, discussions and lectures by eminent law personalities on various aspects of law and justice besides the problems of the lawyers community.

He said the judicial academy could not cope with the training of thousands of lawyers who were entering the profession and bar associations could do the same job of training besides solving their problems of medical treatment, housing, insurance, etc.

He said most of the lawyers could not afford expensive medical treatment. He said the judicial officers had also many problems. He had recommended grade 18 for the civil judges, as their present salary was not sufficient.

In his presidential address, Mr Minto said following rapid increase in the population and a large number of lawyers coming out of the universities and colleges, the entire context of the legal and judicial system needed drastic changes that could cope with the new requirements of society.

There should also be a change in the legal education as the present law courses were quite old, which could not meet the present requirements of law. He said bar associations had dual responsibility, political and legal.

On the legal side they should activate themselves and set up special committees and groups that could undertake a study to point out which laws needed amendments to meet the changing requirements of society as most of the laws had become obsolete.

He said the government should also set up a legal research institute or a cell to undertake such a study but the cell should not comprise on bureaucrats but legal experts capable of suggesting changes in the legal and judicial system.

Mr Minto said the bar associations and eminent lawyers could help such a cell with their suggestions and proposals. He said the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules and regulations would be enforced in Pakistan soon that would require amendments to various laws. Neither the government nor the bar associations had paid any attention to it.

He said not only the judicial officers but the lawyers also needed training. The government was proposing to give district and sessions judges more powers like the writ jurisdiction, etc.

They could discharge this additional responsibility only if they were educated and trained for their new role. At present most of them did not perform their duties of inspection of lower courts. He recalled that attendance in special lectures on legal ethics was necessary for passing the final law examination. It should be revived.

Lahore High Court Bar Association president Ahmad Awais said the most important issue of the legal and judicial system was the confidence of the people in the system and that was possible only with the restoration of the rule of law and supremacy of the constitution.

No law reforms could be meaningful unless there was rule of the law and supremacy of the constitution in the country. This was the basic concept of the law. There should be no concept of the 'right of the might' but rule of law, he added.

He said the legal community should make collective efforts to restore the rule of the law in the country. Referring to the suggestion of enhancing the sentences for various offences, he said crimes could not be checked by enhancing sentences but by enforcing the existing laws in letter and spirit.

He said the system should ensure enforcement of the laws. He also opposed the Federal Shariat Court as there was no provision for such a court in the constitution.

He said the proposal for Alternate Dispute Resolution (ARD) was good as it would help reduce burden on courts by settlement of disputes outside the courts. Justice Nasira Javid Iqbal (retired) laid emphasis on improving the legal education system.

She said there was a mushroom growth of law colleges in the country that were churning out law graduates most of whom could not be absorbed in the legal profession. They needed training before joining the profession.

She suggested that a law university should be set up to decide the question of affiliation and disaffiliation of law colleges. There should be a uniform curriculum of courses for all law colleges. For entry into the legal profession the bar councils should hold tests and successful candidates should be issued license to practice law.

She said civil judges had no training and only those should be appointed who had at least two years experience of legal practice. She said 20 of 50 posts of Lahore High Court judges had remained vacant for want of suitable judges.

The government had been appointing such persons as judges who had never appeared before a high court judge as lawyers. Bar councils should hold multi dimensional examinations for such postings, she added.

She stressed the need for imparting legal ethics to the new lawyers. Servicing of legal notices should be privatized to ensure compliance and attendance of the litigants in courts.

Senator S. M. Zafar, who could not attend the seminar, said in his message that improving the legal and judicial system was the need of the hour as 30 to 40 per cent of the people had no access to justice as it was so expensive that they could afford it.

He recalled that Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz while taking oath of his office had assured the nation that he would introduce far reaching changes to the social, economic and judicial system of the country to provide relief to the people.

For judicial reforms the justice should be made affordable and accessible to the common man. Necessary reforms be made in the police system and investigation of crimes. He said thousands of cases were pending for want of judges. He regretted that 'qabza mafia' was active and the people had no remedy.

Jehangir A. Jhojha said delay in the justice had caused great unrest among the people who were losing confidence in the judicial system. He appreciated that the government had taken initiative to improve the system and said unless the requirements of law and justice were met mere changes in the laws could not provide relief to the people.

He said restoration of the people's confidence in courts and the judicial system was most important thing to do. Principal of a law college Humayun Ehsan said enforcement of laws was necessary as mere law reforms could not solve the problems of the people.

He said a system's success depended upon the persons who run it. The Asian Development Bank was providing funds for improving the system and about half of the amount had already been spent without visible results.

Legal education should also improve, he added. Earlier, PINA secretary general Altaf Hasan Qureshi issued a working paper containing the basic points for discussion by the participants in the seminar.

The points related to the reforms in the police system, revival of the people's confidence in judicial system, measures for providing inexpensive and quick justice to the people, changes in the civil and criminal procedure codes suggested in the law minister's letter, judicial problems of women, settlement of cases outside the courts, need for a moral movement obliging the law and judicial machinery to provide cheap and quick justice to the people.

Other speakers included Zafar Iqbal Qanooni, former district and sessions judge Masood Akhtar, woman lawyer Shamsa Qazi, Fawad Husain, Azam Suhrawardy and Pir Kalim Khurshid.