Who is Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, the next chief justice of Pakistan?
Pakistan
Justice Shah is also a member of the Supreme Judicial Council.
(Web Desk) - Justice Mansoor Ali Shah on Friday became the top trend on 'X', formerly Twitter.
In the wake of the resignations of two senior judges, Mazahar Ali Naqvi and Ijazul Ahsan, from the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the spotlight turns to Justice Shah, poised to become the next chief justice of Pakistan.
As Justice Sardar Tariq Masood is set to retire on March 10, 2024, and Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa on October 25, Justice Shah will become the 31st chief justice of Pakistan untill December 2027. Justice Shah is also a member of the Supreme Judicial Council.
On January 10, former justice Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi tendered his resignation, as the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) was hearing a reference against him over the misconduct allegations revolving around amassing wealth beyond his resources.
And yesterday, another judge, Ijazul Ahsan, sent his resignation to President Arif Alvi. He was at third place in the seniority list of the apex court. He was set to become chief justice in October this year. He was notable for his role in the high-profile Panama case in 2017 that resulted in the disqualification of then-prime minister Nawaz Sharif, and served as the monitoring judge overseeing the implementation of the decision.
Career
Justice Shah was appointed Lahore High Court judge on September 15, 2009, and elevated to the court’s chief justice in 2015. He was made a judge of the Supreme Court on February 7, 2018, by President Mamnoon Hussain.
Key Judgements
Justice Shah was a member of the four-member bench of the Supreme Court, which upheld the death sentence of former President General (retd) Pervez Musharraf. He was a member of the seven-member bench of the apex court, which gave the ruling that abolished the lifetime disqualification of politicians under Article 62(1)(F) of the Constitution.
Justice Shah is also a member of the nine-member larger bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, that will hear the presidential reference against the late former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's death sentence.
Being a member of the three-member bench, he declared the amendments to the NAB Act null and void and ordered reopening of all corruption cases worth less than Rs500 million that were previously closed against political leaders from various parties and public office holders. He also ordered that not just the corruption cases but also the inquiries and investigations be restored.
Justice Shah, along with Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, called for revisiting the power of the “one-man show” enjoyed by the chief justice in a dissenting note that advocated for a collegial system to ensure transparency and accountability in the justice system during the hearing of a petition filed by the PTI against election delay last year.
Justice Shah also heard the suo moto case, remarking that the dissolution of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) assemblies can’t be done on someone’s dictation as the representatives are elected for five years.
Key Reforms
Justice Shah introduced key reforms in the judicial system of Pakistan. As the chief justice of the Lahore High Court, he spearheaded the formation of Alternate Dispute Resolution Centers (ADRC) in Punjab. He introduced case management and court automation systems at the LHC and the district courts, as well as established a research center at the LHC. He also set up the first-ever Gender Based Violence (GBV) Court and a Child Court in Lahore, besides criminal and civil model courts.
He helped restructure the curriculum at the Punjab Judicial Academy. At the Supreme Court, he helped establish e-courts by video linking the principal seat with the provincial registries of the Supreme Court. He also helped establish the Supreme Court Research Centre (SCRC) and the SC Judicial Mobile Application to help lawyers.
