Category: Pakistan
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Pakistan Supreme Court proceedings against former President Zardari; Philippines Supreme Court and cyberspeech
–David Law, Washington University, St. Louis A couple of constitutional court news items … — The Pakistan Supreme Court and government of Pakistan appear to be finally moving toward resolution of the Court’s efforts to quash the amnesty granted to former President Zardari and others.
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Doctrine of Necessity in Nepal: A Bractonian Blunder?
Henry de Bracton was a 13th Century British jurist who, among other things, defended supreme papal authority over secular affairs and recommended that criminal trials be undertaken “by ordeal” (wherein the defendant would hold red-hot iron or be thrown bound into a lake under the premise that a just god would protect the innocent).
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Pakistan’s Supreme Court Leads Again: Transgender Rights
While Pakistan’s military has egg on its face this week, it is important to recall that not all of Pakistan’s institutions are weak or broken. The Supreme Court under Justice Chaudhry continues to play an active role in a judicialized political environment.
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The Indian Supreme Court and the Government of Pakistan
In a recent judgment issued just last week (Gopol Dass thr. Brother Anand Vir vs. Union of India & ANR, writ petition No. 16 of 2008), the Supreme Court of India addressed its decision directly to the Government of Pakistan. Speaking on behalf of an Indian citizen imprisoned in Pakistan since 1984, the Indian Supreme…
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Courting Trouble in Pakistan: the Next Chapter
The tug-of-war between the Supreme Court of Pakistan and that country’s executive continues. In 2007 Pervez Musharraf sacked the court’s chief justice and two associate justices for openly opposing the erstwhile dictator’s seizure of emergency powers. Within hours of the dismissal throngs of lawyers had taken to the streets in protest, exacerbating the crisis and…
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Dominic Nardi on Pakistan’s Judiciary: Suo Moto Tango
The Indian Supreme Court has become prominent (or notorious) amongst comparative constitutional law scholars for its judicial activism. However, if anything, the Pakistani judiciary has gone even further in finding creative ways to support public interest litigation (PIL). Under Article 184(3) of the 1973 Constitution, the Supreme Court has original jurisdiction over petitions to enforce…
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Big constitutional changes in Pakistan
The Associated Press reports that Pakistan’s National Assembly has just passed a mammoth package of constitutional amendments, the so-called “18th Amendment Bill.” Passage required a two-thirds majority; the actual vote was unanimous. The most noteworthy aspect of the amendment bill-which actually contains a total of 105 amendments to the constitutional text-is the extent to which…
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Indo-Pakistani Constitutional Convergence?
The distinctions in constitutional structure between India and Pakistan—not to mention their differences in political culture—are as sharp as they are numerous. To name but a few, India is a federal state tending toward decentralization in a parliamentary system whose constitution proclaims its commitment to secular democracy.
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Pakistan’s constitutional war continues
First off, these are no doubt good times for the comparative study of constitutions. A blog devoted to comparative constitutional law and courts would have been a near-fantasy merely a decade ago. More than anything else, its establishment reflects the growing interest and tremendous advancement in the comparative study of law and courts over the…