Justice of The PeaceThe concept Justice of Peace (JoP) has been

introduced in most countries to secure

public peace and tranquility. A Judicial

Officer of the inferior rank holding a court

not of record, and having civil and criminal

jurisdiction of a limited nature, for the trial

of minor cases, to an extent prescribed by

statue, and for the conservation of the

peace and the preliminary hearing of

criminal complaints and the commitment of

offenders.

According to Pakistani law any

Provincial Government can appoint any

reasonable and suitable person as a

Justice of Peace (JoP) in a union council,

tehsil and district level for a specific

period. He or she institutes legal

proceedings against a person who infringes

the rights of other. He or she has power to

make an arrest in circumstances

enumerated in Sections 54 and 55 of the

criminal procedure code and to hand over

the custody of the arrested person to the

officer in charge of the nearest police

station.

Moreover, JoP also has the power to issue a

certificate of identification of a person, to

verify documents and to attest any such

document required by or under law in force

to be attested by a magistrate, until the

contrary was proved, any certificate,

document attested shall be deemed to have

been as fully attested as if he had been by a

magistrate, as mentioned in Section 22-A of

the CrPC. It is also necessary to fix

handsome salary for the JoP.

In view of the increasing crime rate yet

registration of First Information Report

(FIR) is a big problem. Therefore, Provincial

Government and federal government may

appoint Justices of Peace in every union

council, tehsil, and district level to secure

public peace and tranquility and try to

make the crime-free Pakistan. Hopefully,

Government of Pakistan, Supreme Court

and Wafaqi Mohtasib will take

immediate steps for the appointment of

the Justices of the Peace at the union

council level.

Siddique Baloch

LLB, Intl Islamic University

Cell: 0333 5575786