We follow law, Constitution not our free will, says CJP

QUETTA: Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Mian Saqib Nisar remarked that judges follow the law and Constitution and don't give verdicts based on their free will. 

While addressing an event in Quetta, he remarked that the judges in the country are not using their competence to fullest. 

"We the judges, act in accordance with law and law alone," he asserted. "It is important for all of you to learn the law. It is necessary for us to know our jurisprudence and laws.”

The people come to judges first seeking justice, he remarked. 

"Where have all the capable judges gone? Maybe we don’t have the resources of passion now,” he lamented. Chief Justice Nisar said that judges should show more passion. “You are a part of a respected profession.”

“We have to bring our house in order. This is the start of our judicial reforms. We must appreciate facts. Superior courts are not courts of facts. Superior courts are courts of laws," the top judge added. 

"We are the top privileged civil servants," he said, adding that the salaries and facilities available to judges are more than similar grade officers in other departments. "We have to justify our incomes and facilities."

Speaking about the cases which are delayed for years, Chief Justice Nisar remarked that he doesn’t understand how the trial of cases can go on for 30 to 40 years. 

“What is the fault of the person who is seeking justice? How can it take 15 years for a case's trial to conclude? I don’t understand this,” he added. 

Chief Justice Nisar said that judges are responsible for the delay in cases and dispensation of justice.