Lawyers should be adept in history, mathematics, literature: CJP Khosa

LAHORE: Chief Justice of Pakistan Asif Saeed Khan Khosa on Saturday said there was a time when the legal profession used to enjoy great respect, however, things have changed unfortunately.

Speaking at the function of a private law college here, he said all professions are noble but there were three professions which were generally considered to be noblest of all professions and they were divinity, law and medicine. He said down the ages, these professions had been looked up with reverence because of the activity they indulged in.

In divinity, he said, holy personages treated souls of people, doctors dealt with the body of individuals but on the other hand, lawyers dealt with ailments of a society ranging from economic, criminal, property issues and civil rights. So the range of activities the lawyers indulged in was far bigger than the range of activities indulged in the other two noble professions medicine and divinity, the chief justice said.

He said the holy personages and doctors treated one person at a time while a lawyer served rights of a whole society by picking up a fight for his/her client, which was a far much more nobler cause than the other two causes –divinity and medicine. “If I were to rate one I would rate legal profession as the noblest that a human being can think of,” he said.

The chief justice shared with the audience memories of his childhood when he witnessed tremendous respect for lawyers and judges due to nobility attached to the legal profession only. He said unfortunately, things have changed although there is a recent period around 2007 to 2009 when the legal community in Pakistan earned more respect as they championed a very big cause of independence of judiciary. However, he regretted that the story was not that rosy.

Referring to a quote of famous English jurist Lord Denning, Chief Justice Khosa advised the law students to have command over history, mathematics and literature to become a good lawyer. He said in the current real age, a lawyer needs to have a much more well-rounded personality as he is now supposed to deal with multiple statutes and other disciplines in courts. “Unfortunately, in this country, every social, economic and political issue ultimately ends up in court of law,” said the chief justice.

SC Justice Umar Atta Bandial said not only hard work but truthfulness is also a must for working in courts. A lawyer who loses credibility is of no worth even if he is the best lawyer in the world. Lawyers should focus on their character building, he concluded.