As Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa approaches his retirement on October 25, his legacy is poised to return underneath shut scrutiny. Authorized analysts and attorneys are already weighing in, with assessments starting from reward for his judicial reforms to critiques of his controversial selections.
Chatting with The Information, attorneys and constitutional consultants supply a mixture of evaluation: whereas some view his tenure as marked by vital contributions to transparency and public accountability, others spotlight the controversies which have clouded his time in workplace.
A defining function of CJP Isa’s tenure has been the introduction (in September 2023, proper after he turned CJP) of reside televised Supreme Courtroom proceedings, a primary in Pakistan’s judicial historical past.
This daring transfer by the chief justice aimed to open up courtrooms to the general public, offering unprecedented entry to authorized proceedings. It was met with a combined response — praised as a step towards transparency however criticised for probably turning the judiciary right into a stage for political drama.
One other key reform throughout his tenure was the Supreme Courtroom (Observe and Process) Act, 2023, which sought to control the court docket’s inner operations, notably regarding suo-motu powers.
The Act shifted decision-making on these instances to a three-member bench, as a substitute of leaving the authority solely with the chief justice, thereby decentralising the facility construction. Whereas seen by some as a obligatory examine on judicial overreach, others regarded it as an try to curtail the chief justice’s powers.
Moreover, the Act grants people the appropriate to enchantment in opposition to selections made underneath the court docket’s suo-motu powers, permitting appeals to be heard by a bigger bench inside 14 days.
Previous to the passage of this regulation, the CJP had the unique authority to represent benches and provoke suo-motu actions. There have been cases the place using suo-motu powers by former chief justices raised considerations about potential biases in how and after they had been exercised, particularly in politically delicate instances.
There have been additionally considerations about bench formation underneath former CJPs’ tenures. For instance, former CJP Umar Ata Bandial had the only real discretion to resolve which judges would hear specific instances and the way benches can be constituted for each routine and high-profile instances.
He was typically criticised for forming selective benches for politically delicate instances, resulting in accusations of bench ‘packing’.
CJP Isa’s rulings over time have demonstrated a dedication to social justice and environmental safety. In Mohammad Aslam Khaki v Khalid Farooq Khan (2023), he emphasised the significance of preserving public parks and inexperienced areas, rejecting the commercialisation of public land for personal achieve.
Equally, in Federal Authorities Workers Housing Basis v Ghulam Mustafa, CJP Isa criticised the state’s preferential remedy of judges and army officers in land allocations, underscoring how such practices perpetuate inequality in a rustic the place tens of millions wrestle for fundamental housing.
Chief Justice Isa’s stance on ladies’s rights has been one other hallmark of his judicial philosophy. In Muhammad Rafiq v Ghulam Zohran Mai, he condemned the apply of depriving ladies of their rightful inheritance, whereas in Muhammad Abbas v State, he criticised societal acceptance of ‘honour killings’ and insisted that homicide ought to by no means be masked underneath the guise of honour.
One in all Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa’s most controversial rulings was the 2019 choice within the Faizabad Dharna case. Whereas affirming the appropriate to protest, CJP Isa dominated that public areas shouldn’t be obstructed and property shouldn’t be broken.
The judgment additionally implicated intelligence businesses within the protests, resulting in vital backlash from highly effective political and army quarters.
This finally resulted in a controversial reference being filed in opposition to him, accusing him of failing to reveal international belongings — an accusation later quashed by the Supreme Courtroom in 2020, however not with out deepening tensions between the judiciary and the chief.
Chief Justice Isa’s tenure as chief justice has not been with out controversy. The choice to disclaim the PTI)using its iconic ‘bat’ image for the 2024 normal election drew sharp criticism from PTI supporters and political commentators.
Including to that is the continuing political storm surrounding the federal government’s proposed constitutional modification package deal.
Reflecting on Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa’s legacy, PILDAT President Ahmed Bilal Mehboob observes that CJ Isa has been perceived as “an anti-Imran Khan choose even earlier than he assumed the place of CJP”, a notion that was “strengthened throughout his time period as CJP.”
Regardless of these controversies, Mehboob commends CJP Isa for his resilience in combating the 2019 reference, stating that he “shall be generally known as a disciplinarian and a fighter”, although he leaves “a divided Supreme Courtroom as divided as when he turned the CJP.”
The query on legacy could also be answered otherwise in numerous moments in historical past, feels Supreme Courtroom advocate Basil Nabi Malik who says that if he had been requested this a yr or so in the past, “my reply would maybe have been totally different”.
Justice Qazi Faez Isa of yesteryear, he says, “was a maverick, however extra so than that, a staunch advocate of the rule of regulation and a fierce champion of the independence of the judiciary.”
However as chief justice, Malik suggests, CJP Isa “looks as if a special individual solely”, noting that his legacy “shall be shrouded in controversy.”
Hassan Abdullah Niazi, a excessive court docket advocate, echoes this sentiment, linking CJP Isa’s legacy to his choice to strip the PTI of its electoral image.
“His tenure shall be remembered for including yet one more choice to Pakistan’s lengthy historical past of political victimisation by way of our judicial system”, says Niazi, including that whereas CJP Isa could have aimed for judicial restraint, his selections usually amounted to “judicial abdication”.
On the problem of the Supreme Courtroom Observe and Process Act, Niazi notes that Chief Justice Isa himself has described his legacy as limiting his personal powers and introducing reside streaming.
Nonetheless, he means that even these reforms “are more likely to be remembered as a case of 1 step ahead, two steps again”.
Lastly, constitutional knowledgeable Hafiz Ahsaan Ahmad Khokhar notes that CJP Isa’s legacy “shall be considered as a combined bag from an administrative and judicial perspective.”
Khokhar credit CJP Isa for his early reforms, together with the reside streaming of Supreme Courtroom proceedings. He additionally maintains that CJP Isa’s judicial legacy is characterised by a strict interpretation of the regulation and a cautious train of judicial authority.
Initially printed in The Information