Lawyers back supremacy of Constitution

As the coalition government moves to reduce the power of the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) to take suo motu notice alone and delay elections in the Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa assemblies, the Lawyers’ Convention held here on Monday passed a resolution throwing its weight behind the “supremacy of Constitution”. The resolution was presented by Faisal Chaudhry Advocate.

Last week, both houses of parliament passed the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023, aimed at limiting the top judge’s suo motu powers in an individual capacity.

Addressing the Lawyers’ Convention via video link on Monday, PPP leader Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan noted that efforts were being made to delay elections in Punjab and K-P. He suggested that those responsible for providing security were trying to prevent the polls from being held, and added that for the first time, the Constitution was not being implemented, in a veiled reference to the establishment.

Ahsan called on PPP leader Senator Raza Rabbani – architect of the 18th Amendment, which curtailed the president’s power to dissolve the National Assembly and transferred political and economic powers to the provinces – to speak up on the current “constitutional crisis”. He urged lawyers to uphold the Constitution rather than following the doctrine of necessity.

Ahsan praised Supreme Court Justice Qazi Faez Isa, calling him a courageous judge, and said that “clipping the powers of CJP meant that his (Justice Isa’s) authority was also being limited”. He also said that Justice Isa had given a verdict against him when he was the Balochistan High Court Chief Justice, but that he was “impressed by his courage”.

On the government’s efforts to curtail the CJP’s powers, Ahsan metaphorically said, “chains that are used to tie CJP Umar Ata Bandial’s feet will also be used for you (Justice Isa) tomorrow”. He urged Justice Isa to support CJP Bandial, who he said was standing as a custodian of the Constitution.

On Wednesday, a special bench of the Supreme Court, with a two-to-one majority, ordered that all suo motu cases be suspended – under Article 184(3) of the Constitution – until amendments were made to the apex court rules governing the chief justice's discretionary powers.

The special bench order came in response to the suo motu case related to examining the award of additional 20 marks to Hafiz-e-Quran candidates applying for enrolment to an MBBS/BDS degree. Justice Isa headed the bench, which comprised Justice Aminuddin Khan and Justice Shahid Waheed. However, Justice Isa objected to the constitution of the bench, arguing that it was not properly constituted.