District Judiciary Secretariat launched in Peshawar

PESHAWAR: Chief Justice of Peshawar High Court (PHC) Yahya Afridi on Tuesday said there would be no threat of uprising in the society “if swift and timely justice was provided to people.”

He said this during the launching ceremony of the Secretariat of District Judiciary at Peshawar High Court building here. The ceremony was attended by judges of high court, representative of Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF), British High Commission, UNDP, Switzerland Embassy, German Development Bank, Governance and Policy project and officials of provincial government.

The secretariat aims at carving out an institution that shall be able to strengthen the administrative capacity of the district judiciary for quick and inexpensive judicial service delivery at the grassroots. The World Bank, through Governance and Policy Project, Planning and Development Department, is supporting the establishment of the secretariat.

Addressing the participants, the PHC chief justice said it was high time district judiciary was provided an opportunity to determine its path and welfare. “This will ensure inexpensive and expeditious justice,” he said.

The chief justice said high court appreciated the support of the MDTF. He said the PHC was developing strategies according to its priorities, adding support of donors would be welcomed in reform sector. He apprised the participants that reforms had been introduced aiming to evolve a model for dealing with civil and criminal cases at district level.

The chief justice said, “We want to bring about changes in the Civil Procedure Code.” The chief justice that a three-day conference would be held in February on introducing the changes and it would be attended by all stakeholders including police and prosecution.

Talking about the proposed changes, he said the entire process took one year in which feedback was taken from judicial officers, businessmen and people from all sectors. “We have to build capacity of district judiciary to deliver justice,” he said.

The chief justice said eight far-flung districts had been selected to provide basic facilities to general public as presently development was restricted to three districts only. He suggested to the donors to prepare modules for training of judicial officers with coordination of the Judicial Academy.

The chief justice distributed appreciation certificates among officers of the Governance and Policy Project to acknowledge their support in establishment of the Secretariat of District Judiciary. At the end of the ceremony, the participants visited different sections of the PHC.