Emphasizing on the better role of judiciary in the country, First Deputy Chief Executive Officer Mohammad Khan, in a gathering on judicial reforms including UNDP, UNAMA and Justice Ministry officials, said on Monday, August 10, that judicial reforms and rule of law could help Afghanistan get rid of insecurity and misfortunes.
Mohammad Khan told the gathering that judicial reforms could help overcome many problems the society faces. He said a strong political will and assistance from visionary organs could help bring reforms to the system.
Reforms are necessary because it is vital that the country should have effective judiciary; otherwise, thinking of justice in the country would remain only a dream.
It is important to understand that every modern state stands on four basic pillars also termed as organs of the state. These include Legislature, Executive, Judiciary and Media. All the four organs of the state play their role in the development of a state and it is their appropriate interaction that can make a state function successfully. Every state is formed in order to guarantee the rights of the people who are their citizens. Modern welfare states even move one step ahead by announcing the role of the state to be the welfare of all its members. So they believe that state in itself is not an end rather it is a mean to an end and that end is the welfare of the people.
In order for a state to function in such a way so as to guarantee the welfare of the most of its citizens there should be ‘Separation of Powers’ among the organs of the state. The separation of powers suggests that the different organs of the state have the capacity to function on their own, without any compelling influence from other organs. This is to guarantee accountability and fair play in the matters of the government.
In case of judiciary Separation of Powers become inevitable because there are fears that if judiciary is not separated from the executive or legislature, there is every possibility that the law is utilized for safeguarding the interests of the ruling elite. Particular emphasis, therefore, should be on a separate judiciary and it has to be made sure that the independence of the judiciary has to be real and not apparent merely. From ‘real’ it is meant that judiciary be separated in its function practically not just theoretically.
It has been one of the most dominating demands of the justice that the makers of the law themselves should also be put to trial and even punished for their violation of the law. As in most of the human societies the ruling elite have been so easily capable of using the law for their benefit that there is a belief in politics that ‘justice is the will of the rich’. Once the rich and the powerful in society become strong enough so as to undermine the law and order system, the doom of the system is ascertained from that particular point. Therefore, it is vital that they should also be trialed and if the law proves them guilty they should be punished as per the law – this will set a remarkable example in the state and will ensure justice to all of its people.
The system running in our country Afghanistan is one of the presidential systems in the world. Keeping in view the prevalent differences in the country it is advisable that there should be a strong central government. And the president should enjoy powers, so that it should be able to take important decisions speedily and on time. But all these can never be achieved on the basis of violation of separation of power. The idea of separation of power as explained earlier is very much advisable for a system to work with accountability and fair play and especially when the system is a presidential system. The judiciary, executive and legislature are not separated as per the idea. The judiciary has not been able to prove its separate identity. Though there have been many allegations on the executive members, they are yet to be brought to courts and trialed openly.
The public courts, in similar fashion, are not able to provide justice to the people as per the demands of true justice. The people do not get timely justice and have to wait for a long time before the culprits are trialed and punished. Moreover, there are instances when the culprits are able to avoid trials and punishment through corrupt means. The poor people, in this regard, suffer the most. As they are not able to follow pay for the corrupt means and they do not have influence like the rich people, they never get the justice to favor them. Even if they are on the right side, they are proved to be wrong and thus they get disappointed from the system.
It is important that the judiciary must ensure proper trial and punishment and make sure that justice is served to all the people of Afghanistan alike and the poor and minorities are not violated.