SC adjourns 18th Amendment petitions hearing

Pakistan

SC adjourns 18th Amendment petitions hearing

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31 August,2010 02:38 pm

The Supreme Court on Tuesday adjourned the hearing of petitions against the 18th Amendment till Wednesday. A 17-judge full court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry heard the petitions challenging certain clauses in the amendment.Advocate General for Sindh Yousaf Leghari defended the 18th Amendment before a 17-member Supreme Court bench, which is hearing the identical petitions against certain provisions of the amendment. He said that there are few qualified judges in Balochistan so the government has to appoint judges in Balochistan from other provinces. He added that the court had no jurisdiction to hold a judicial review of such amendments. Under the constitution, parliament has supremacy and it can bring about any constitutional amendments. Only in certain administrative issues, the SC can hold a judicial review, he said. He also objected to Article 2-A (Objectives Resolution) and contended that it was not a part of the constitution and should not be regarded as a touchstone to strike down a constitutional amendment. It (Article 2-A) was incorporated in the constitution by the assembly with the sole purpose to bring about unity among all segments of the country, he told the court. Leghari will continue his arguments tomorrow as well.