The basic function of our Supreme Court is to hear and adjudicate and interpret the law on actual cases or disputes.
HOUSTON, US: The basic function of our Supreme Court is to hear and adjudicate and interpret the law on actual cases or disputes between two adversaries that comes before it on appeal. Such appellate jurisdiction and application of law is the Court’s primary duty. Its original jurisdiction should be rare and limited to hearing cases between two provinces or where one province or the federal government is a party. Modern day democracies have no blanket prohibition against criticism of the judiciary or judges since it would be an affront to freedom and human dignity. In the US and elsewhere, judges conduct their decisions and are subjected to unfettered scrutiny and discourse by people in the public arena. I can only hope that we in Pakistan also emulate these practices in vogue in much of the rest of the world.
Tausif Kamal
Published in The Express Tribune, July 2nd, 2012.
