APRIL 27, 2007:
(Update to LRWC statement of March 19, 2007)
LRWC deplores President Musharraf’s March 9, 2007 suspension of Iftikar Mohamed Chaudhry from his office as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. LRWC re-iterates our earlier statement that the suspension constitutes an unacceptable attack on the independence of the Pakistan judiciary. LRWC further states that the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) proceedings on the alleged allegations against Chaudhry have been invalidated by secrecy and a denial of due process.
LRWC calls on the Government of Pakistan to put in effect the following remedies:
- the immediate ; and,
- a halt to the SJC’s in camera hearings of the secret allegations against Chief Justice Chaudhry; and,
- a speedy determination of allegations against Chief Justice Chaudhry, in a hearing open to the public, conducted in strict accordance with recognized fair trial standards before an impartial and independent tribunal.
Background Information
Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf suspended Chief Justice Chaudhry from his duties as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan on March 9, 2007 on accusations of “misconduct, misuse of authority and actions prejudicial to the dignity of office of the chief justice of Pakistan.” [1] In a recent report based on a week long field visit, the International Commission of Jurists referred to the suspension, which took place after the Chief Justice refused General Musharrah’s request for his resignation, as “virtually unprecedented in the legal annals of the world” in a country with “well-known and well-documented instances of executive interference in the independence of the judiciary and judicial subservience.” [2]
The SJC is purporting, in camera, to review those allegations. On April 24th the SJC dismissed a request from Chief Justice Chaudhry’s lawyers to suspend the SJC proceedings until the Supreme Court decision on Chief Justice Chaudhry’s petition challenging the SJC’s competence to hear the allegations against him. Proceedings were then adjourned to May 2, 2007. In the Supreme Court, on April 24th, the hearing of Justice Chaudhry’s petition was adjourned when the presiding Judge, Justice Sardar Raza, recused himself on the basis that he was one of the judges on the SJC panel that originally restrained Chief Justice Chaudhry from his judicial functions. No new date for hearing was set.
Apparent motivation behind the suspension
The suspension appears to have been precipitated by Chief Justice Chaudhry’s record of judicial independence and appears to be intended to prevent him from making further rulings unpopular with or adverse to the Musharraf government of Pakistan.
Chaudhry, appointed to an 8-year term as Chief Justice in June 2005, has a reputation for judicial independence and has made rulings reported to be unpopular with General Musharraf’s military junta. [3] Justice Chaudhry had ordered Pakistan’s intelligence agencies to disclose the whereabouts of a number of missing political activists allegedly detained illegally by security forces. These disappearances have been linked to Pakistan’s co-operation with the United States in its “war on terror.” [4] In February 2007, Justice Chaudhry reportedly stated that General Musharraf could not legally continue as army chief beyond his present term as president were he returned as President by Parliament, instead of through a general election. [5] Observers had reported a plan to ensure Musharraf’s another term as President by having him returned by the present Parliament and postponing a general election. [6]
Judicial independence: the cornerstone of the rule of law
Judicial independence, is the foundation upon which the legitimacy of legal systems depends. The requirement for an independence judiciary is enshrined in many international instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary, and is protected by the Constitution of Pakistan. [7]
CONTACTS www.lrwc.org
Cara Gibbons, +1 416-822-1626; Gail Davidson, +1 604 738 0338
caragibbons@osgoode.yorku.ca lrwc@portal.ca
Footnotes:
[1] Associated Press of Pakistan, cited in Confrontation in Pakistan deepens. BBC. 16 March 2007. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6457019.stm]
[2] International Commission of Jurists. Pakistan – ICJ concludes Mission to assess developments related to Reference against Chief Justice Chaudhry. April 26, 2007. [http://www.icj.org/news.php3?id_article=4154&lang=en].
[3] Associated Press of Pakistan, cited in Confrontation in Pakistan deepens. BBC. 16 March 2007. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6457019.stm]
[4] Amnesty International. United States of America: Below the radar: Secret flights to torture and disappearance.’ April 5, 2006. [http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR510512006]
[5] Judge row prompts Pakistan democracy questions. BBC. 12 March 2007. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6442829.stm].
[6] Ibid.
[7] The Constitution of Pakistan, Objective Resolution and Article 2A, “
the independence of the Judiciary shall be fully secured;”
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