RECORDER REPORT

ISLAMABAD: Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice has underscored the need for making Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan more vibrant and dynamic to keep the statutes and other laws of the country under review and achieve the desired objectives efficiently.

The committee met here with Senator Muhammad Javed Abbasi in the chair at the Parliament House on Wednesday to review the Law and Justice Commission Ordinance 1979 in wake of existing realities and international best practices.

The members of the committee were of the view that the Commission is important; however, there is a need to make it more efficient by changing its composition through appropriate legislative measures.

The committee observed that there is disconnect between the Parliament and Law & Justice Commission of Pakistan for which concrete measures need to be taken. The committee recommended that the report of the Commission should be laid before the Parliament instead of presenting it before the government with a view to enable the Parliament to decide about legislation on matters highlighted in the report.

The committee also sought details of reports approved on law reforms and forwarded to the government for implementation. The committee also took note of no career growth of the staffers of LJCP Secretariat as some staffers have been waiting promotions for more than 10-15 years and directed the LJCP secretary to furnish report in this regard.

The high-ups of Law and Justice Commission informed that 136 reports have been approved so far, out of which 39 were implemented whereas 75 could not be implemented and 22 were partly implemented.

The members of the committee were of the view that the Commission has a huge mandate; however, high number of non-implemented reports reflects that there are gaps in the existing procedure. It was decided that the committee would formulate recommendations to bridge those gaps to make the Commission more vibrant.

The committee also discussed in detail working and performance of Federal Ombudsman Secretariat for protection of women regarding harassment at work places. The committee was informed that the scope of work of Secretariat is limited to the harassment issues occurring at workplaces.

The committee emphasized the need for enhance its scope of work; however, it sought details of harassment cases reported during the last three years and decisions given in this regard. The committee also considered a public petition regarding necessity of legislation with regard to ban on burial without death certificate and directed to call the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) chairman in the next meeting in this regard.