Pakistan change ‘assault on judges’ independence’
The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) has warned that a constitutional amendment in Pakistan represents “a structural assault on the independence of the judiciary”.
The institute said that the 27th constitutional amendment would have long-term consequences for constitutional governance and the protection of fundamental rights.
Signed into law on 13 November by President Asif Ali Zardari, the amendment was passed in less than a week.
‘Stripped of powers’
It creates a permanent Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) and grants it exclusive jurisdiction over national and provincial disputes – a power that previously lay with the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
The IBAHRI argues that, in effect, the restructuring relegates the country’s supreme court to an appellate body, stripping it of key constitutional powers.
The amendment also introduces what the institute describes as “sweeping changes” to the appointments and transfers of judges.
Call for withdrawal
IBAHRI co-chair Mark Stephens said that the IBAHRI “strongly condemns” the amendments.
It has urged the country’s government to withdraw the provisions of the amendment that undermine judicial independence, weaken constitutional checks and balances, and elevate state officials beyond the reach of the law.
“This amendment acts as a comprehensive legislative strategy designed to subordinate the judiciary, institutionalise political control, and place above the law the president and highest-ranking military,” Stephens stated.
“The democratic ideal of the separation of powers has been replaced with the institutionalisation of military dominance,” he added.
Stephens called on the international community to speak out against what he called “these grave infringements on the rule of law”.
Senior judges and opposition figures in Pakistan have criticised the changes, and Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, the second most senior judge in Pakistan’s supreme court, has resigned in protest.