Islam and Human Rights — Page 3
Introductory 3 only a beginning. Much remains to be achieved in that regard, as well as in other respects. At this stage the main effort must continue to be directed towards obtaining wider recognition of the need to insure that human rights shall carry with them sanctions which would serve to make these rights enforceable through judicial process. For this purpose, the principal instrument which should be availed of is the national legislature of each State, which should, through appropriate constitutional and legislative processes, invest human rights with legal sanctions enforceable through the national judicial system. This process would, however, prove effective only in the case of States in which resort to judicial process is not unduly restricted and the process is guaranteed to take its due course without let or hindrance. In other words, a free and independent judiciary is a sine qua non for the effective safeguarding of human rights and for guaranteeing freedom, justice and equality. Legislative action at the national level, supported by a free and independent judiciary, would go a very long way towards securing the desired objective, but would need to be supplemented by provision of recourse, by way of appeal or review, and in suitable cases even by original motion, to regional tribunals