Pak Supreme Court Justice Bandial sworn in as new CJP

Islamabad [Pakistan], February 2 (ANI): Pakistan‘s Supreme Court Justice Umar Ata Bandial sworn in as the new Chief Justice of Pakistan on Wednesday, reported Samaa News. He will continue as the Chief Justice till his retirement on September 18, 2023.

This followed the departure of former Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP), Gulzar Ahmed, from the position. Identifying the ‘scandalisation’ of judges and a massive backlog of undecided cases as major challenges facing the judiciary, Chief Justice Bandial on Tuesday, spoke at length about the challenges faced by the superior judiciary during the former CJP‘s term, reported DAWN. He criticized Pakistani mainstream media and social media for resorting to attacking judges rather than criticizing their judgments.

Furthermore, coining the idea of performance audits of all courts, including the apex court, to identify and remedy weaknesses, Justice Bandial called on the legal fraternity to help save the court’s time. He urged judicial use of time by ensuring a greater reliance on written briefs, concise statements and skeleton arguments by counsel and an end to the culture of seeking adjournments at the time of the hearing, reported the newspaper. (ANI)