KABUL - President Ashraf Ghani on Monday officially announced the appointment of Sayed Yousaf Haleem as the Chief Justice of Afghanistan after legislators endorsed his appointment by casting a vote of confidence for him a few weeks back.

The oath taking ceremony was conducted at the Presidential Palace on Monday and was attended by a number of senior officials from the National Unity Government (NUG) including Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Abdullah Abdullah, Ghani, Second Vice President Mohammad Sarwar Danish, Justice Abdul Rashih Rashid, former acting chief justice of the Supreme Court and members of the High Council of the Supreme Court.

Speaking at the ceremony, Ghani reaffirmed his commitment to protecting the Afghan constitution.

"The important job of the president is to protect the constitution," Ghani said. "But for this purpose the president needs a fully authorized and level-headed and reliable Supreme Court which of course emerges on the basis of the law."

In addition, Ghani said that the main aspect of the new Chief Justice's job should be the will of Allah, satisfaction of the Afghan nation and their confidence in the judicial system.

Ghani also touched on the implementation of reforms in various institutions by pledging full cooperation with the Supreme Court initiatives on reforms.

"I hope that the judges in the country accomplish their task with a clean conscience and wisdom," Ghani said.

The newly appointed chief justice also addressed the ceremony and thanked Ghani for having trusted him enough to appoint him to the position. He asked Ghani to be cooperative with him so that he could work effectively for the rule of law and in making the judicial system accessible to the people.

Haleem pledged to use all available resources to implement justice and to fight corruption.

Haleem has worked in the legal sector since the mid-1980s and has an illustrious career history behind him.

Among the positions he has held over the years includes Deputy Director of Legislation at the Institute of Legislative Affairs; Professional member of International Law of Legislation and the Institute of Legislative Affairs Department; General Director of Legislation at the Institute of Legislative Affairs;

Deputy Administrative Minister (2009-2010) and Deputy Minister of Justice for Legal Affairs (2010-2014) among others.

He was awarded his Bachelor of Art in Law and Political Science from Kabul University in the early 1980s. (Tolonews)