Senior lawyers, ex-judges call for full court over 27th Amendment | The Express Tribune

PAKISTAN:

Senior lawyers and retired judges wrote to Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi on Monday, warning that the proposed 27th Constitutional Amendment poses the “greatest threat” to the Supreme Court since its inception.

Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah has written to CJP Yahya Afridi, urging him to engage the executive to ensure no constitutional amendment is made without consulting judges of all constitutional courts. He also called for a Full Court meeting or a joint convention of constitutional court judges to discuss the proposed 27th Amendment.

Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, in his letter to Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, warned that the proposed Federal Constitutional Court “does not arise from any genuine reform agenda but is a political device to weaken and control the judiciary.”

He said the court’s judges would be appointed “without constitutional parameters,” giving the executive decisive power and inviting “manipulation of the judicial process.”

“A court born of executive will cannot be independent,” Justice Shah cautioned, adding that “a controlled constitutional court may serve transient political interests but will permanently damage the Republic.”

He stressed that judicial independence “is not a privilege of judges — it is the people’s protection against arbitrary power,” urging the CJP to “raise the alarm before the independence of the judiciary is irretrievably lost.”

A copy of the letter has also been sent to all Supreme Court judges.

The proposed 27th Constitutional Amendment makes sweeping changes to Pakistan’s judicial, administrative, and federal structures. Major features include establishment of federal constitutional courts in the capital and the provinces, changes in judges’ transfers and introduction of executive magistrates.

Another letter, penned by Advocate Faisal Siddiqi,and endorsed by several prominent retired judges and senior advocates, describes the proposed amendment as “the biggest and most radical restructuring of the Supreme Court of Pakistan since the Government of India Act, 1935”.

Read: Judiciary weighs response to 27th Amendment

The proposed draft also brings to Article 243 of the Constitution, pertaining to the command of the armed forces. With the 27th Amendment, the government intends to abolish the post of Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, create a new Chief of Defence Forces role, and grant lifetime terms and immunity to the Field Marshal as well as Air Chief Marshall.

Critics within the legal community warn that the amendment would undermine judicial independence and weaken the Supreme Court’s authority.

Senior lawyers and retired judges have described the draft bill as a “radical restructuring” that risks subordinating the judiciary and centralising power in the federal executive and military command.

“It should be obvious to your Lordship as the principal custodian of the Supreme Court that the proposed amendment permanently denudes the apex court of its constitutional jurisdiction,” reads the letter.

The signatories refrained from discussing specific clauses of the proposed amendment and urged CJP Afridi to convene a Full Court “immediately and without delay” on the matter.

The senior lawyers noted that the proposed bill is likely to be passed “by November 11 or any day thereafter”.

In a sharply worded passage, the signatories cautioned that if the CJP declines to act “on the pretext of neutrality or non-interference,” he might as well effectively “reconcile to being the last Chief Justice of Pakistan” and accept “the demise of the Supreme Court as the highest court in the country”.

Read More: PM, senators feast on halwa after finalizing 27th Amendment

Terming the matter one as one of “utmost public importance,” the lawyers stated that they were releasing the letter to the media “in the interest of transparency”. The communication was sent via WhatsApp to the CJP’s secretary, Muhammad Yasin, and is to be delivered through courier in due course.

Signatories to the letter include:

• Justice (retd) Mushir Alam, former senior puisne judge, Supreme Court

• Justice (retd) Nadeem Akhtar, former senior puisne judge, Sindh High Court

• Muneer A Malik, former attorney general of Pakistan

• Muhammad Akram Sheikh, former president, Supreme Court Bar Association

• Anwar Mansoor Khan, former attorney general of Pakistan

• Ali Ahmad Kurd, former president, Supreme Court Bar Association

• Abid S Zuberi, former president, Supreme Court Bar Association

• Kanrani B Amanullah, former president, Supreme Court Bar Association

• Khwaja Ahmad Hosain, advocate Supreme Court

• Salahuddin Ahmed, advocate Supreme Court

• Shabnam Nawaz Awan, advocate Supreme Court