CHIEF Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry has been restored along with 10 other judges of the superior courts to the positions they held on 2 November 2007, with full powers. He will take charge of office on March 22. Coming as it does as a result of an epic struggle lasting over two years, the restoration has been rightly celebrated in the country. As the struggle had drawn people from different political and ideological backgrounds, having their peculiar concepts of what an independent judiciary needs to urgently do, different sections have different expectations from Chief Justice Chaudhry. Priorities differ from the recovery of the disappeared persons, settling the NRO case, initiating Gen (retd) Musharraf's trial for violating the Constitution twice, reaffirming the Supreme Court decision declaring the Emergency illegal and reopening the Lal Masjid case. There are others who hope the Iftikhar Court would continue to take suo moto notice of gross violations of law and acts of injustice as vigorously as before. While priorities differ widely, they nevertheless have a single common denominator: ensuring justice to all and sundry, and bringing the lawbreakers to book irrespective of their economic, administrative or political clout. While it may not be possible to satisfy everyone, most people will be contented if the new Supreme Court is able to address this most basic concern. Those opposed to his restoration have claimed that he has become politicised. While fulfilling the common man's aspirations for justice, he has to ensure that he is above controversy. While suo moto action by superior courts is required in societies where administrations ignore or condone illegalities committed by the high and mighty, the courts need to give reasonable time to the executive to perform its duty before taking action on its own. Instead of resenting the courts' interference in administrative matters, elected governments should be more responsive to the plight of the common man than arbitrary regimes. While individuals play an important role in history, they have to act under severe limitations. Whatever the level of their commitment or calibre, they cannot hope to replace an efficiently functioning system, which depends on strong institutions, the judiciary being a most crucial one. What is needed is to improve the judicial system, which is inefficient, corrupt and out of sync with the times, causing voices to be raised at places like Swat for a parallel judicial system. What ails the system most is delay in the administration of justice and the cost involved, which is beyond the common man's reach. A number of recommendations have been made in the past by the Justice and Law Commission of Pakistan, lawyers' bodies and media to improve the dispensation of justice. What the Chief Justice needs most is to concentrate on the revamping of the judicial system.