Pak Tea House » Entries tagged with "Supreme COurt"
The Samosa and the Courts
By Noah Bokhari: The Supreme Court allowed an appeal by the Punjab Bakers and Sweet Federation and set aside a notification by the Punjab government through which the price of a Samosa was fixed at Rs6. In 2009, the City District Government of Lahore on the instruction of the Punjab government had fixed price of a samosa at Rs6 and the magistrates had imposed fine on shopkeepers for selling samosa at higher rates. The Punjab Bakers and Sweets Federation through its president Muhammad Afzal had challenged this order before the Lahore High Court (LHC). Their petition was dismissed allowing the CDGL and Punjab Government to keep the price of Samosa at Rs 6 and continue the prohibitive action against the vendors . An appeal was filed in the Supreme Court against the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Punjab
The decision to oust Prime Minister Gilani
By Yasser Latif Hamdani A few hours ago the Supreme Court of Pakistan ruled that Yusuf Raza Gilani stands disqualified under 63(1) g of the Constitution. I have written extensively on this in many of my previous blog posts which may be found on this website. However I’d like to state some basic issues with this judgment in clear and unambiguous terms (sadly no one speaks in those in Pakistan: 1. The Supreme Court of Pakistan, in my legal opinion, is NOT vested with the authority under the constitution to dismiss the Prime Minister or over-rule the decisions of the Speaker i.e. Presiding Officer of the National Assembly whose decisions are his or her privilege and are covered by the parliamentary privilege clause. 2. Chief Justice of Pakistan/the entire Supreme Court of Pakistan has no … Read entire article »
Filed under: Judiciary, Justice, Pakistan, Parliament
What Should Have Been Done
Raza Habib Raja At the onset, I would like to make this thing clear that I have contrasting views on two recent executive judiciary standoffs: Memo scandal and NRO verdict. The clarification is essential because generally both the standoffs are analysed by the conservative as well as liberal media analysts through the same paradigm. The conservative viewpoint generally castigates PPP as the epitome of corruption and incompetence. It is by and large completely supportive of the judiciary and regards the current hawkish approach of the judiciary as “essential” in order to check the “corrupt” politicians. On the other hand large section of the liberal press (assuming such a section actually exists!) construes the entire situation as establishment’s deep conspiracy to derail democratic process and vilify PPP. According to this point of view, armed … Read entire article »
Filed under: Uncategorized
PM’s conviction: Is Supreme Court acting ultra vires its scope?
By Yasser Latif Hamdani The constitution of Pakistan envisages a trichotomy of powers i.e. federal, legislative and judicial powers. Each of these three branches are distinct and derive their powers from the Constitution. The Supreme Court of Pakistan is a creature of the Constitution. It derives its original jurisdiction in terms of disputes between provincial governments and federal government from Article 184 (1) and 184 (2) which judgments have to be declaratory in nature. Article 184(3) vests the Supreme Court with jurisdiction to decide questions of fundamental public importance. The Appellate and Advisory Jurisdictions are derived from 185 and 186. The Supreme Court and the High Courts have the power of judicial review i.e. to review legislative functions and see if these are in accordance with the constitution. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Constitution, Judiciary, Pak Tea House, People's Pakistan
Justice served
by Saad Hafiz The Supreme Court (SC) has decided to indict Prime Minister Gilani for contempt of court for his refusal to write a letter to the Swiss authorities asking them to restore corruption cases against President Zardari in that country. The contempt proceedings against PM Gilani stem from an earlier SC ruling which threw out the controversial National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) in 2009. The NRO issued by the former President General Musharraf in 2007 granted amnesty … Read entire article »
Filed under: Pakistan
Supreme Court short order out …
By Yasser Latif Hamdani … And thank god that they have not dabbled in that horrible theory of the basic structure which would have meant closing the door on any future prospect of democratic reform in Pakistan (in my personal view). I think this is an important middle ground which has atleast restored some of the faith I had lost in our judiciary to do the right thing. Now it is upto the democratic government to meet the judiciary half way. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Constitution, Democracy, Judiciary, Justice, Law, lawyers movement, Liberal Democratic Pakistan, Pakistan
Supreme Court's earlier judgement and the 18th amendment case
Faisal Naseem Chaudhry The 18th Amendment case is likely to conclude soon and it is quite probable (courtesy of remarks of the Honourable Judges) that the SC may strike down a constitutional amendment finding it contrary to Independence of Judiciary; in other words finding it contrary to the ‘Basic Structure of the Constitution’. Pasted below are some excerpts from a Five Member Bench Judgement of the SC delivered on 13 April 2005. The Judgement is known as Pakistan Lawyers Forum vs Federation of Pakistan and through this cluster of different petitions, the constitutionality of 17th Amendment was challenged before the SC. One of the grounds was that the 17th Amendment was violative of the Basic Structure of the constitution. As stated earlier, it was a Five Member bench and the then two … Read entire article »
Filed under: Pakistan
Our Free and Independent Judiciary!
By YLH The Supreme Court has proved yet again that it is independent and free… independent of any check by law and free of all rational sense. It is now becoming increasingly clear that the the Superior Courts have every intention to allow every terrorist and his mother in law loose on the streets. By dismissing the appeals of Punjab and Federal Governments against release from house arrest of Hafiz Saeed, our honorable Supreme Court told the government, “Arrest him when you have proof”. What would constitute proof one wonders? Indian Government has submitted five dossiers. Is there nothing in them that atleast qualifies as actionable evidence? It seems though that the Supreme Court is now unconcerned with the fate of this country. … Read entire article »
PTH Exclusive: Interview with J. Jawwad Khawaja
Posted by Raza Rumi We are grateful to Babar Mirza who has translated an interview given by Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja to Sohail Waraich in June 2007 which is recorded in Waraich’s book ‘Adlia ke Arooj-o-Zawaal ki Kahani’. The interview is a must read for all those who are interested in Pakistan’s politics and institutions. A biographical note is also available for those who wish to know more about the life and times of J. Khawaja. The latter resigned when J. Iftikhar Chauhdry was illegally deposed by the Musharraf regime. Later, he was part of the lawyers and judges movement and he was re-inducted into the Supreme Court after J. Chauhdry was restored as the Chief Justice in 2009. The interview also explains why Justice Khawaja took oath unde the 2000 PCO during the Musharraf regime. Just as in any other … Read entire article »
Filed under: Activism, Judiciary, Justice, Law, lawyers movement, movements, Pakistan
The current judiciary-executive standoff
We are posting Marvi Sirmed’s bold and controversial piece that made waves today in Pakistan’s media. This piece entitled “Let reason prevail” has a clear line and PTH does not necessarily subscribe to this point of view (editors). There is a judicial crisis, the media says. This claim seems to be correct if one realises the level of urgency the Supreme Court showed in responding to a presidential notification. This notification was nothing bigger than the elevation of the senior-most judge of the Lahore High Court (LHC) to the Supreme Court and the subsequent appointment of the second senior judge as the Acting Chief Justice of the LHC. Those having objections to the president’s notification say it violated Article 177 of the Constitution. The said Article provides for a consultation with … Read entire article »
Filed under: Pakistan
Pakistan’s Supreme Court versus the democratic government
– by Abdul Nishapuri In a (not so) surprise move, top judicial bureaucrats sitting in Pakistan’s Supreme Court and Lahore High Court have declared war against a fragile democracy in Pakistan. The (right-wing) establishment has taken its dagger out for a final attack on the democratic government of the (left-wing) Pakistan People’s Party. In a decision announced in the after hours on Saturday, the Supreme Court of Pakistan suspended the appointment of two judges by … Read entire article »
Filed under: Democracy, lawyers movement, Pakistan, Politics
Even SC can’t take away president’s immunity: Aitzaz
This report from the Daily Times is worth noting – the ‘laptop warriors’ might be disturbed with such clear pronouncements… LAHORE: The constitution is very clear about a president’s immunity against criminal litigation and even the Supreme Court cannot take it away, former Supreme Court Bar Association president Aitzaz Ahsan said on Tuesday. Talking to reporters at the Lahore High Court, where he had appeared in connection with a case, Aitzaz said he had not changed his position on presidential immunity. “A president does not enjoy any immunity in civil … Read entire article »
Filed under: Pakistan
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