Summary Farhatullah Babar proposes establishment of Constitutional Court to resolve constitutional issues.
ISLAMABAD (Online) - PPP Senator Farhatullah Babar on Wednesday stressed the need for constitutional amendment to provide for a federal Constitutional Court to resolve constitutional issues.
Speaking in the Senate on the issue of dual nationality of judges‚ he said such measures were necessary to maintain the balance between state organs.
He said that the present government would cease to be in office in the next 3 days and therefore his proposal should not be misunderstood as partisan political considerations.
Regardless of which political party or parties come into power it is critical for balance between state institutions and for the principle of separation of powers.
He said that a Constitutional Court has already been agreed upon in 2006 in the Charter of Democracy signed between Mian Nawaz Sharif and Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto but had not yet been implemented. He said that more that 80 percent of the CoD had been implemented and now we should implement the remaining provisions particularly the one relating to the Constitutional Court.
Recently it has been observed that the Constitution‚ not Parliament‚ is supreme he said adding that at the same time it is said that the Constitution is how it is interpreted by the Court.
He said that this formulation placed the Supreme Court in a position where it will be seen as having an interest in outcome of any constitutional debate. This will erode the constitutional authority of other state institutions and will be detrimental to democracy itself.
Wednesday’s discussion was prompted by a motion moved by him and Senator Aitzaz Ahsan to discuss the court s reply to the question whether there were dual national judges.
Farhatullah Babar said that the hallmark of a mature democracy is the proper functioning of the checks and balances and asked‚ where are the checks and balances?
The judges have disqualified an elected PM; they have disqualified dozens of MPs on dual nationality. In the appointment of judges neither the Parliament nor the President has any role.
The Parliamentary body must decide in 14 days but there is no time limit on the Judicial Commission. The JC is unevenly structured having eight judges and three non judges as against the PC which has equal number of four MPs both from the treasury and opposition.
More than 100 judges have been appointed during the last 5 years all by the judiciary without any role of the Parliament or the President.
He said there is a notion that no man is above the law and added the neither the honorable judges were above the law nor the members of Parliament below it.
