Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar issued an order on Saturday prohibiting universities across the country from granting affiliation to new law colleges, at the same time barring high courts and subordinate courts from issuing a stay order on the case.
During a hearing of a suo motu case at Supreme Court's (SC) Lahore Registry regarding substandard law colleges, the CJP ordered the vice chancellors of universities that have law college affiliates to submit a signed report detailing the admission criteria, the quota of students as well as the results produced by the colleges.
Justice Nisar also formed a committee, that would be headed by lawmaker Hamid Khan, to introduce reforms in law colleges. He said that institutions must be strengthened instead of individuals since the latter keep coming and going.
The CJP regretted that the institutions of the country were being weakened and stressed the need for competent lawyers instead of those who "sold paan during the day and practised law in the evening". He vowed to reform the standard of legal education in the country within six weeks.
The CJP dismissed the authenticity of the National Testing Service, saying that the system was no good since students who took the exam passed by cheating.
The chief justice at the start of the year had outlined the Supreme Court’s agenda for 2018, saying that the court would be focusing on human rights issues, particularly those relating to the people’s right to quality education and healthcare.
