Power of Judicial Review

First published in The Friday Times.

By Yasser Latif Hamdani

During his confirmation hearings, Judge John Roberts, the Chief Justice of the United States of America, famously admitted that he was aware of the fact that millions of people had elected the US Congress and not even one person had voted for the Supreme Court. More recently, in the now famous Obamacare judgment pronounced on June 28, Roberts declared that it was not the job of the Supreme Court to "protect people from their political choices". Such is the deference for the legislative branch of the government in the country that literally invented the doctrine of judicial review.

Great responsibility

By Yasser Latif Hamdani (writing in the Friday Times)

The Supreme Court's suo motu notice of allegations of corruption on Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry's son was odd. The presiding judge was the father, and the accused, his son.

Many have attempted to justify the action of the chief justice of Pakistan by quoting examples from Islamic history, including that of Hazrat Umar (RA) who sentenced his son. Others have referred to the fictional but more indigenous example of the Anarkali story where Prince Salim was tried for treason by Emperor Akbar. It is unfortunate that substance has always been disregarded in emotive arguments for form. 

Institutional Balance

By Yasser Latif Hamdani
Many eminent jurists and  legal minds have weighed in on the issue of the Supreme Court’s recent judgements, including the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) judgement and the subsequent painting of the prime minister prima facie as dishonest and in violation of his oath. There are, however, far simpler issues that a humble observer and student of political science and law may raise as to the recent goings on.
The first and foremost issue to my mind is the separation of powers and how the recent rulings of the Supreme Court of Pakistan have affected it.

Supreme Court dismisses Pakistan Govt's review petition in NRO

This is what happens when you hire someone like Dr. Babar Awan to plead your case.

PTI | 01:11 PM,Nov 25,2011

From Rezaul H Laskar Islamabad, Nov 25 (PTI) Pakistan's Supreme Court today rejected a government petition seeking a review of its order that struck down a controversial graft amnesty for politicians, setting the stage for possible reopening of corruption cases against top leaders like President Asif Ali Zardari. A 17-judge bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry dismissed the government's petition which had sought a review of its December 2009 ruling declaring as unconstitutional the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) passed by former President Pervez Musharraf granting amnesty to politicians accused of corruption. The bench said in a short order that it was of the considered view that no case was made out for a review. The court directed authorities to comply with its earlier detailed order on the issue in letter and spirit without any delay. It had heard the case for five days before dismissing the government's petition. Former Law Minister Babar Awan, a close aide of Zardari, had appeared in court as the government's counsel. On December 16, 2009, the Supreme Court had struck down the NRO, which was passed in October 2007 by Musharraf as part of a secret understanding with slain former premier Benazir Bhutto. The secret deal had allowed Musharraf, who was also army chief, to remain in power by contesting Presidential polls while still in uniform. (More)

Suo Standards: The key to the Supreme Court’s success

COURTESY DAWN

Waris Husain

The Supreme Court of Pakistan – File Photo

A visiting delegation from the International Commission of Jurists criticised Pakistan’s Court for exercising suo motu excessively, stating that judicial interventions were seen by some as the court exercising “undue influence.” A representative for the Supreme Court rejected the claim as being based on faulty information, because the rules for suo motu are laid out in Article 184(3) of the Constitution and in case law. However, learned experts inside the country including Asma Jahangir, have asked the court to create a legal standard for the use of suo motu. Though suo motu has been used to remedy several of the nation’s major issues, its practice cannot continue until a legal standard is developed that takes into account all the potential negative aspects of its use.