Speedy trials: Military courts will be unconstitutional, says ex-CJ

Chaudhry urges govt to set up more civilian courts


Our Correspondent December 31, 2014

ISLAMABAD: Former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry has said that the establishment of military courts through a constitutional amendment will be unconstitutional.

“The establishment of military courts is against the spirit of the 1973 Constitution,” Chaudhry told journalists on Tuesday. “There is no need for military courts in the presence of an independence of judiciary,” he said and blamed weak prosecution for low convictions in terrorism-related cases.



Chaudhry said the government should increase the number of civilian courts for speedy trial instead of establishing military courts. He added that he was surprised to see the lawmakers “who have taken an oath to defend the Constitution committing an illegal act by supporting military courts”.



Supreme Court Bar Association President Fazal-i-Haq Abbasi also opposed the establishment of military courts through a constitutional amendment. “Instead of setting up military courts, the government should improve the existing judicial system including the working of anti-terrorism courts,” he told The Express Tribune.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 31st, 2014.

COMMENTS (5)

Atif | 9 years ago | Reply

The Ex-CJs civilan court recently set Lashkar E Jhangvi chief free of charge. High courts n Supreme courts are highly political in nature. So many people supported CJ at one time but now everyone regrets it.

It's not independent judiciary but political judiciary.

Ghareeb Adami | 9 years ago | Reply

If it is agreed that the nation is at war and our enemies are operating in the whole of country, what is stopping the government (President) from declaring the whole country war zone/op area; thereby declaring a state of emergency in the whole country, as it was done during 1965 and 71 wars. Nothing happened to the in-chair governments at that time, and even now declaring a state of emergency in the country will not de-thrown any one.

Call the military in aid of civil power and establish as many military courts as required. I think no clause of the constitution will be violated.

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