Judiciary under threat, ex-SC officials warn

Appeal to apex court committee to form full court to address SC amendment ordinance

ISLAMABAD:

Fifty former law clerks of the Supreme Court have written an open letter to the apex court judges, urging them to take a stand against an ongoing attack on judicial independence.

"We trust that when time comes, all judges will stand resolute – mindful of their solemn duty to protect the Constitution," said the three-page letter issued on Sunday.

Starting with a quote of the incumbent chief justice of Pakistan, Qazi Faez Isa, about the need to ensure that people keep trusting the judiciary, the letter expressed concerns about a recent "brazen onslaught on the superior judiciary; one seemingly intended to systematically disempower it".

"This attack comes in all shapes and forms, ranging from the Election Commission of Pakistan flagrantly defying/delaying compliance with orders and directions of the superior courts to the hasty enactment and implementation of the Supreme Court (Practice & Procedure) Amendment Ordinance, 2024.

"And perhaps most concerning of all, the proposed Constitutional Amendment, the contents of which remain concealed from the very people it is meant to govern," it said.

It noted that the Supreme Court (Practice & Procedure) Act, 2023—enacted only last year—was endorsed by a full court, holding that the act furthers judicial independence and ensures balance between the judges of the Supreme Court.

It lamented that the SC (Practice & Procedure) Amendment Ordinance that was promulgated last month seeks to undo what was accomplished through the act, reverting the Supreme Court to its previous state: one which provided the CJ primacy over the composition of judicial benches and, often, the outcome of cases.

"This long-standing order was recognized as untenable by a majority of this court in the aforesaid matter, with many having earlier protested the failure to promptly constitute a full court.

"The Supreme Court of today must deal with the pending challenges to the Amendment Ordinance, and any similar challenge, in a like manner and with the same urgency," it said.

The letter said an independent judiciary is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, without which the entire constitutional edifice crumbles.

It said the fragments of the Constitutional Amendment that have made their way into the public domain reveal one incontrovertible fact: these 'representatives' envision a subservient judiciary that bends to the whims and desires of the powers that be.