ISLAMABAD: The new judicial year 2017-18 in the Supreme Court will commence today (Monday) with many challenges involving accountability of judiciary as well as increasing backlog of cases.
The opening ceremony to mark the beginning of new judicial year will be held in the Courtroom No 1 of the apex court with the end of the summer vacations.
Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar, Attorney General of Pakistan Ashtar Ausaf Ali, Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) Vice Chairman Ahsan Bhoon and Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Rasheed A Rizvi will address the ceremony.
The event will be attended by law officers of the Supreme Court, officials of Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan and the lawyers.
According to lawyer Ikram Chaudhry, the major challenges to the apex court are increasing number of cases, huge pendency of cases and growing demand of accountability of judges.
Amid the growing incidents of tension between the bar and bench, lawyers and retired judges demanded that bar councils revive their disciplinary committees for accountability of delinquent lawyers.
After the July 28, 2017 verdict, which disqualified Nawaz Sharif as Prime Minister, the Pakistan Bar Council, Supreme Court Bar Association and other bars across the country, are also demanding the superior judiciary to initiate and accelerate the process of self-accountability as no judge has been removed by the SJC for last 47 years.
The judges of the superior courts have also observed several times during the hearing of various cases that ‘no judge of a superior court in Pakistan had ever been prosecuted in a criminal court’.
According to sources, 34 references against the superior court judges have been shortlisted for hearing before the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC).
Sources revealed that the SJC will take up a complaint of misconduct against a Lahore High Court (LHC) judge on September 14.
