ISLAMABAD: As the government made moves toward the passage of the 27th Constitutional Amendment, former judges and top lawyers on Monday urged Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi to summon a full court meeting to discuss the proposed legislation. The request came in a letter, dated November 9 and a copy of which is available with Dawn, that was …
ISLAMABAD: Expounding on an earlier ruling, the Supreme Court on Thursday held that participation of women in the public sphere was not a benevolent concession, but a realisation of a right long denied. “When women contribute across education, administration, policy, health, and justice, institutions draw upon a broader spectrum of experience, enhancing the quality, legitimacy and responsiveness of governance,” observed …
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has recorded its first decline in pending cases in nearly a decade. For nearly a decade, the number of pending cases in the Supreme Court had been steadily increasing — rising from 25,686 cases in 2015 to a record high of over 60,446 in early 2024. But for the first time in almost ten years, the …
ISLAMABAD: The debate over whether a full court can be formed to hear challenges to the 26th Amendment continued on Thursday, with one of the judges of the Constitutional Bench (CB) saying that Article 191A, which pertains to the formation of the CB, could not be ignored in the case at hand. During the hearing of the case by the …
ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court’s Senior Puisne Judge Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Munib Akhtar have said that changes recently made to the Code of Conduct for superior court judges will restrict judicial freedom and create avenues for internal and external control, it emerged on Tuesday. On October 18, the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) approved far-reaching amendments to the Code of …
ISLAMABAD: Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar on Tuesday remarked that the Supreme Court’s regular and constitutional benches (CBs) were “branches of one tree” as an eight-member CB heard arguments on petitions challenging the 26th Amendment. The Amendment was passed by Parliament during an overnight session in October last year, with the PTI claiming seven of its lawmakers were abducted to gain …
ISLAMABAD: Justice Ayesha Malik wondered on Wednesday whether Article 191A of the Constitution meant that a full court could no longer be formed as the Supreme Court’s (SC) Constitutional Bench (CB) heard petitions against the 26th Amendment. Article 191A was an addition to the Constitution made under the 26th Amendment to form constitutional benches in the Supreme Court to specifically …
LAHORE: Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, senior puisne judge of the Supreme Court, on Saturday deplored that successive governments in Pakistan had shown little interest in improving the lives of ordinary citizens, saying policymaking remained trapped in “elite capture”. “Everything that is done is elitist to satisfy or protect industry or perhaps pressure groups, but an ordinary person is not …
ISLAMABAD: Senior lawyer Munir A. Malik contended on Thursday that an order for the formation of a full court could be issued using “judicial powers” as an eight-member Constitutional Bench (CB) of the Supreme Court (SC) heard pleas against the contentious legislation. The Amendment was passed by the parliament during an overnight session in October last year, with the PTI …
ISLAMABAD: An eight-judge Constitutional Bench (CB) of the Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday began its deliberations on the petitioners’ request to form a full court to hear a set of pleas challenging the 26th Amendment. The Amendment, which was approved by both houses of parliament in October last year, altered judicial authority and tenure, and has been a lightning rod …