Changeover: ‘Gentleman judge’ takes oath as new CJP

ISLAMABAD:

Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani took oath as the new Chief Justice of Pakistan on Thursday. He was sworn in by President Mamnoon Hussain.

Jillani will remain in the role of chief justice for six months and 24 days after which Justice Nasirul Mulk will succeed him. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and former CJP Iftikhar Chaudhry were among those present at the ceremony.  The new chief justice was working as the acting chief election commissioner and had recently resigned from the post.

As his first act as chief justice, he took notice of the footage of Justice Chaudhry’s retirement reference being leaked to one media group on December 11. He also heard seven cases in the court after the oath-taking ceremony. The first case he heard pertained to the allotment of plots by the Capital Development Authority (CDA).

During the full court reference held in Justice Chaudhry’s honour, his successor, Justice Jillani, raised a big question mark over the one policy that most defined the outgoing chief justice’s legacy: suo motu notices.

“There is a need to determine the limits and contours of [the judiciary’s] jurisdiction under Article 184(3) of the Constitution with a view to discourage frivolous petitions and to prevent the misuse of jurisdiction by vested interests,” he said during the full court reference.

Elaborating, Justice Jillani said, “The apex court, on account of its mandate may be called upon to fill gaps between law and social dynamics. But while doing so, the court has to defer to an equally important constitutional value of the trichotomy of powers.”

Published in The Express Tribune, December 13^th, 2013.