PESHAWAR: Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel on Saturday inaugurated the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa PostGraduate Institute of Judicial Studies and Research (PGIJSR) saying he was hopeful that the institute would become a great seat of learning not only in the country but also in the region.

The institute is a component of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Judicial Academy and was set up on its premises.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by judges of the high court and subordinate judiciary, PHC Bar Association president Essa Khan and general secretary Ayaz Khan and University of Engineering and Technology vice chancellor Imtiaz Hussain Gilani.Director general of the KP Judicial Academy Hayat Ali Shah told participants that the institute would be imparting education in judicial studies, which was an emerging field across the world.

He said the institute was the first of its kind in Asia and fourth one across the world.

The chief justice said the new institute would be an asset for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and rest ofthe country.

He said the judicial academy was a nascent institute but since its inception in 2012, it had developed by leaps and bounds and had been on a high pedestal among such like academies in the country.

Justice Mazhar Alam said the prime objective of the academy was to impart training to judges and other people related to dispensation of justice keeping in view the modern day`s requirement.

He added that so far the academy had imparted quality training not only to judges but also to lawyers, probation officers, prosecutors, journalists, civil society members and public information officers.

The chief justice said the research wing of the academy was very vibrant and that the academy recently began internship programme for fresh law graduates.

He said the visits of high dignitaries to the academy, including assistant secretary general of UN and representatives of UNDP, Unicef and World Bank, showed the respect it had earned internationally.

Justice Mazhar Alam said at the international level, the first such like academy, the International Judicial Academy, was set up in the US in 1988 and that it had also been hosting students from other countries.

He urged the KPJA management to coordinate with the academy saying the purpose andobjectives of both the academies were same.

The chief justice said bestowing the degree awarding status to the academy by the Higher Education Commission was a big achievement and that members of the academy should strive hard for turning the new institute a success story.

He said the institute should not be taken as an ordinary award giving institute, while high premium should be put on quality of education to be provided to the students.

Justice Mazhar Alam urged members of subordinate judiciary to abide by their code of conduct.

He said unfortunately, both components of the legal profession, bar and bench, were least concerned about the code of conduct.

The chief justice said judges should have affectionate and respectable behaviour towards those coming to them for relief.

Dean faculty at the academy Dr Khursheed Iqbal said there were several reasons behind the establishment of the institute as there was a lack of academic growth of justice sector personnel and that there was also growing need for applying emerging legal research to wider justice issues.

He said currently, there was no considerable lialson between professionals in the legal field with local and global academic institutions.

He said after the establishment of the institute, that deficiency would be addressed.