A heated debate over the supremacy of parliament has done the rounds over the last month – and it will now make its way into courtroom number 1 from Monday.
The Supreme Court (SC) announced on Friday that it will take up multiple petitions next week challenging the legitimacy of the contempt of court law recently adopted by parliament.
The announcement comes a day after the president’s public statement that parliament had every right to make laws – referring to a contentious passing of a law that absolves all high office holders in the government, including the prime minister, from contempt of court proceedings for their actions.
Armed with the new law, the incumbent Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is believed to be aiming to restrain what it feels is an over assertive judiciary. The Supreme Court sent former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani packing last month on contempt charges, while the future of his successor is also up in the air after he, too, has dragged his feet on court pertaining to National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) case. The court had ordered that a letter be written to Swiss authorities seeking the reopening of graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari and his late spouse, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.
According to the case list for next week, a five-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry himself, will hear the case on July 23. The bench will include Justices Shakirullah Jan, Tasadduq Jilani, Jawwad S Khawaja and Khilji Arif Hussain.
Since the contempt legislation was signed into law by President Zardari on July 13, over a dozen petitions have been filed in different registries of the apex court.
The matter will be taken up two days before the deadline set by the court for Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf to comply with its orders. The court is scheduled to hear the NRO implementation case on July 25, where Prime Minister Ashraf is expected to update the court on whether or not he will comply with court orders.
The chief justice has already conducted a preliminary hearing of cases pertaining to the new contempt of court law at the Quetta Registry of the Supreme Court, after which notices were issued to the federation, Prime Minister Ashraf, chairman Senate, National Assembly Speaker Fehmida Mirza, Law Minister Farooq H Naek, Attorney General Irfan Qadir and the cabinet division.
Speaker of the National Assembly Dr Fehmida Mirza confirmed receiving the court notice and said that her secretariat would reply after consulting with legal experts.
Before the court initiated formal proceedings on the contempt of court law, veiled remarks were issued by both serving and retired judicial officers against it, while government functionaries at the highest level have alluded that they will be defending it with full force.
In an address to a lawyers’ assembly in Karachi, the chief justice remarked that the Constitution is supreme and the courts have the right to scrap any legislation which is against the basic sprit of the Constitution.
On Friday, former senior most SC judge, Justice (Retd) Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday, while addressing Lahore High Court Bar Association, endorsed the statement of chief justice of Pakistan on the issue. He said that the apex court could strike down any law in conflict with the Constitution. “Parliament has no authority to cut the Supreme Court’s powers and it cannot make laws against basic human rights,” said Ramday.
When asked about the government’s defence strategy, Attorney General Irfan Qadir said, “Please wait for July 23rd. The court proceedings will be open and things will be clear to everyone.”
(Read: Courts and controversy)
Published in The Express Tribune, July 21st, 2012.
COMMENTS (12)
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And Justice Retired Ramday with his history of PCOs and going back on his word to resign upon reinstatement is someone worth quoting on Constitutionalism?
the job of the judges is to interpret the constitution,then they should be named,"Interpreters of the constitution.',and not judges
Judiciary's job has been well defined in article 175 (2) of the Constitution of Pakistan.There is no mention of" interpretation" any where in the Constitution.Supreme Court's job is very clearly given in article 187 of the Constitution-to do complete justice
Section 248(2) of the Pakistani constitution states that:
‘No criminal proceedings whatsoever shall be instituted against the president or governor in any court during his term of office." The fact remains that only Judiciary can interpret LAW. Besides, it never says that parliament would ever contradict the Judiciary's interpretation
When judiciary or justices living or dead start taking part in dirty politics they loose the status of unbiased justice and become rogue and corrupt. Sir with your statement against the superiority of the parliament indicate that you guys should be tried under treason for endorsing General Musharraf"s and General Zia's Martial Laws. Here you are talking about a disintegrated system.
@jibran:
Indeed very correct. He got extensions when pressure was applied by CJ.
Agree with syed ali on the difference between a contitution-making assembly vs. subsequent legislatures. In case of written constitution the powers of all 3 branches of govt are circumscribed by the constitution. Even courts in USA ascribe to this rule. I dnt understand why the current govt. is putting up insane arguments. I wld very much like to see the govt. accountable for every action. My full support to the rule of law and judiciary, the only institution standing between Pakistan and further anarchy. I hope that the court throws out the new PM also. Unless the highest offices in the country will not be accountable you can't control the street level lawlessness. No wonder the supreme court is more representative of the people's wishes than the parliament. Thumbs up SC.
This contempt law was passed to defend the most corrupt in this government, it was done with malice through the rubber stamped parliament and was against the constitution. I thought that the constitution of Pakistan grants equal rights to all the citizens and the citizens are bound by the constitution to uphold the law of the land. No body should be privileged and be above the law regardless of their status in the government or country. In civilized countries the Supreme Courts see to it that the legislators don't make any laws which is in direct conflict with the constitution and it's citizens basic human rights. The person sitting in the President House has no idea what basic human rights means, he just wants to safeguard his ill gotten money but the Supreme Court of Pakistan thinks otherwise, they think it belong to the State of Pakistan.
This legislation is quite simply an attempt to bring the parliamentarians above the reach of justice and law. The fact that this government had the shear guts to propose such an abomination shows to what extent they will go to protect their ill-gotten power and wealth.
The constitution has been created by a constituent assembly, which this parliament is not. This parliament is but a creature of the constitution not its creator like PPP walaahs try to assert. The parliament derives its powers from the constitution just like the judiciary. The parliament can amend the constitution but cannot re-create it or create contradictions in it like this malafide and black law of the NRO Government does. Any court even in a banana republic would strike down such a blatantly discriminatory law. The NRO Government basically attempted a Contempt-NRO!