"Judicial independence crippled": Two Pakistan Supreme Court judges resign after passage of 27th Constitutional Amendment

Islamabad [Pakistan], November 13 : Two Supreme Court judges resigned on Thursday, hours after President Asif Ali Zardari signed the contentious 27th Constitutional Amendment into law, Dawn reported.

The 27th Amendment promised, on paper, to "streamline" governance through new constitutional courts, revived executive magistrates and even a relook at how the armed forces are commanded.

At the heart of the amendment is the creation of the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), which would have superior court judges from all provinces and hear constitutional matters, while regular courts would continue to hear all other matters, the Dawn reported.

Supreme Court Justices Mansoor Ali Shah and Athar Minallah handed in their resignations, hours after the contentious 27th Constitutional Amendment was signed into law by President Asif Ali Zardari. Both judges had called on Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi in separate letters to summon a full court meeting and judicial conference to hold a debate on the 27th Constitutional Amendment, the Dawn said.

According to Dawn, one of the judges described the amendment as "a grave assault on the Constitution of Pakistan", saying it "dismantles the Supreme Court of Pakistan, subjugates the judiciary to executive control, and strikes at the very heart of our constitutional democracy".

He wrote that the change had "crippled judicial independence and integrity, pushing the country back by decades".

The judge said he was faced with a choice between continuing to serve or resigning, arguing that remaining in office "undermines the very foundation of the institution one has sworn to protect".

He added that "staying on would not only amount to silent acquiescence in a constitutional wrong, but would also mean continuing to sit in a court whose constitutional voice has been muted".

He stressed that unlike the 26th Amendment, the latest change "has stripped this court of that fundamental and critical jurisdiction and authority", stating he could not function in "a truncated and diminished court".

In his letter, the other judge recalled that when he took his oath 11 years ago, he swore to uphold "the Constitution", not "a constitution".

He wrote that before the passage of the amendment, he had informed the chief justice of his concerns, saying that "against a canvas of selective silence and inaction, those fears have now come to be," Dawn noted in its reporting.

He added that the Constitution was "no more", saying he could "think of no greater assault on its memory than to pretend that, as new foundations are now laid, they rest upon anything other than its grave".

He wrote that what remained was "a mere shadow; one that breathes neither its spirit, nor speaks the words of the people to whom it belongs".

He further stated that judicial robes "are more than mere ornaments", adding that throughout history they had often stood "as symbols of betrayal through silence and complicity alike".

Earlier, Dawn reported that the president was expected to administer the oath to the chief justice of the newly established Federal Constitutional Court at the Presidency on Friday, following the enactment of the 27th Amendment.

The Senate approved the bill for a second time amid opposition protests, with Chairman Yousuf Raza Gilani announcing that 64 lawmakers voted in favour and four against, fulfilling the two-thirds majority requirement.

The bill had first been passed by the Senate on Monday and forwarded to the National Assembly, which approved it with amendments.

It was then returned to the upper house for a final vote on the revised version.

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