Justice Isa's judicial note on military trials removed from SC website
Pakistan
Justice Isa’s judicial note on military trials removed from SC website
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – A judicial note of designated Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Qazi Faez Isa over the bench hearing petitions against trials of civilians in military courts was removed as soon as it was uploaded on the Supreme Court website.
Justice Qazi Faez Isa, in his 30-page note, raised objections to the composition of the nine-member bench.
The note reveals that the longstanding practice of consulting senior judges for bench formation in the Supreme Court has been discontinued since Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial assumed his position.
Additionally, it is noted that during his tenure, the CJP has not convened a single full-court meeting.
Justice Isa had also attached a letter dated May 17 to the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial regarding his separation from the bench.
In the note, Justice Isa highlighted the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023, saying: “Under this law, benches are constituted after holding a meeting.”
He said that he was “surprised” to see his name included in the bench hearing the case when the cause list was issued last night. He said that an order he issued as part of a three-member bench was superseded by a “circular”.
However, the note pointed out that the petitions were not given sufficient time to be reviewed as they were not adequately provided.
The written note highlights the observation that the chronological order of the constitutional petitions filed was not followed.
Despite the first petition being filed on May 25, 2023, it was listed last, while the subsequent petitions filed later were given higher priority, with the application filed on June 20, 2023, being designated as number 1 in the order.
This raised questions about the rationale behind such prioritisation and whether it was necessary to wait until the start of the summer vacations for these cases.
Additionally, the sudden delivery of the paper book for these cases only a day before in the evening raised further concerns.
He asserts that the authority of the Supreme Court and all other courts is derived from Section (2) 175 of the Constitution, which states that no court can exercise jurisdiction beyond what is prescribed by the Constitution or the law.
