Every country has its constitution and its expected form the the people residing in the boundaries of that country to follow it. The law and order situation of that country is settled through that constitution and every act which takes place in that state follows the constitution. One must obey it and contribute towards the perfection of it. Though at times a country faces situations in which its constitution weakens or changes irregularly and might get suspended but that doesn't means that everyone starts disobeying it and start its own justice system to reward and punish people. An example of it is 'The Jirga System".
Basically a jirga consists of a bunch of people governing a tribal area unofficially and playing a role of an arbiter without knowing any kind of laws, rules or regulations. In the tribal areas mostly people are unaware of their rights and cant resist any decisions made to harm them. These people don't know that there is a Formal Judicial System present to provide them their rights and give them what they want; Justice. The people who are a part of this nuisance,Jirga, try to act in such a way to dominate others and tell them that there is no one to provide them with justice and they have to listen to their justice system.
Basically these people try to manipulate others and break the rules of the country. By saying that the country has weak constitution doesn't means that everyone can take rules into their hands and do whatever they want to do. They have to listen to the state in every case and the state along with the people must stop such type of activities. Even an orphan has the right to stop a person abusing his\her parents, in the similar fashion the courts and the people must disdain such type of things to improve the judicial system.
Otherwise these things will expand its roots and take over the country in which quacks will be deciding the fates of others and then the future will become nothing but a dark well.Though the state has some responsibilities and it should fulfill them which include-making people aware of their rights and tell them the path of the door they have to bang when they act to seek justice.
Basically a jirga consists of a bunch of people governing a tribal area unofficially and playing a role of an arbiter without knowing any kind of laws, rules or regulations. In the tribal areas mostly people are unaware of their rights and cant resist any decisions made to harm them. These people don't know that there is a Formal Judicial System present to provide them their rights and give them what they want; Justice. The people who are a part of this nuisance,Jirga, try to act in such a way to dominate others and tell them that there is no one to provide them with justice and they have to listen to their justice system.
Basically these people try to manipulate others and break the rules of the country. By saying that the country has weak constitution doesn't means that everyone can take rules into their hands and do whatever they want to do. They have to listen to the state in every case and the state along with the people must stop such type of activities. Even an orphan has the right to stop a person abusing his\her parents, in the similar fashion the courts and the people must disdain such type of things to improve the judicial system.
Otherwise these things will expand its roots and take over the country in which quacks will be deciding the fates of others and then the future will become nothing but a dark well.Though the state has some responsibilities and it should fulfill them which include-making people aware of their rights and tell them the path of the door they have to bang when they act to seek justice.
3 comments:
Arsalan even though i agree with your main idea that the Jirga system is not a good solution to the problem, I do not believe that the Jirga system has done only bad things for those living under it, as implied by your blog. The need for Jirga arised when there were a lot of feudal wars and battles going on in various parts of the country. The government, even though it tried, failed to effectively control and resolve these wars and it did not exert considerable control in these areas.
Furthermore, if you look at the situation of the country currently, you will realise that our country is faced with many serious problems. These include shortages of fuel and electricity, terrorism, inflation and widespread corruption in major state institutions. In such a situation, practically, it is not only very hard for the government to not only break through the existing tight control of the Jirga system, but also for it to effectively enforce its own laws in these areas. Hence, other than the occasional cases of the Jirga system enforcing inhumane and terrible punishment, the Jirga system that exists is at least better that having practically no law in these areas.
Therefore, as I concluded in my blog, Jirga can be considered as a viable short term solution, but in the long-term, yes I agree that it is not a solution we as a nation should accept.
Instead of criticising the Jirgah system, we need to look into the causes that why it was formed. As Adam already mentioned, the Jirgah system was developed because the state failed to provide an efficient justice system.
We can't immediately put an end to these sub-national systems of justice until the existing system of justice (courts) has been improved. I am aware of the fact that these sub-national systems of justice can be a threat to the existing laws, however, we must also keep in mind that every citizen in this country has a right to access the justice system. We can only abolish these sub-national justice systems when each and every individual has access to the right to justice.
Remember not every country has a constitution (Britain, for example, does not) and many laws exist beyond the constitution that have an important role in determining the actions and behaviors of individuals within a state.
I agree with the commentators that sub-national systems of justice will continue to exist because there is a need for justice that the state is not currently providing.
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