ISLAMABAD: The Senate transformed itself into a `committee of the entire house` on Wednesday and discussed proposals for reforms aimed at providing speedy and inexpensive justice to people.

In their speeches and presentations, a number of senators and legal experts suggested steps, including amendments to the Constitution, aimed at improving the existing justice system which, according to them, had failed to deliver speedy and inexpensive justice to people.

Legal expert and former senator S.M.

Zafar suggested that amendments be introduced in the Constitution to ensure that suo motu jurisdiction of the Supreme Court was used with `judicial restraint`.

He was of the view that law and justice commission and judicial academies should be made independent. He also opposed theinclusion ofservingjudgesin the commission and the academies.

Mr Zafar described the `inefficiency of the system` as the main cause of delay in dispensation of justice and proposed `a surgical operation` of the existing judicial system.

Another expert, Abdul Malik Ghouri, said that local police chiefs and district judges should be professionals elected by the people instead of being nominated by the government or any other institution.

Hasil Bizenjo said that parliament should assertitselfand take bold steps to make the justice system speedy and inexpensive.

Hafiz Hamdullah said there was no concept of inexpensive and speedy justice in society and proposed establishment of Sharia courts at district level besides increasing the number of judges and courts and introducing jirga-lil(e formal systems to expedite the process.

PPP`s Farhatullah Babar said that victims of enforced disappearance andtheir families were yearning for justice and called for legislation to bring state agencies under the ambit of law.

Unfortunately, he said, no avenue for justice was available to such people and the talk of inexpensive and speedy justice was meaningless to them.

Similarly, he said, in cases involving suo motu notices, the highest court in the country tended to become a trial court with no avenue for appeal.

He said that excessive use of suo motu jurisdiction closed an important avenue of justice, namely the right to appeal, and called for a mechanism whereby the critical avenue was not blocked.

Mr Babar also questioned the present mode of appointment of judges, saying the existing system revolved around judges being appointed by judges to the exclusion of the president, the prime minister and practically the parliamentary committee.

The Senate will continue the debate on Thursday.