New judicial system under study

The Pakistan government appears to be working on a new kind of judicial system for the country which is bound to create controversy about the powers of the Supreme Court to arbitrate on crucial issues such as amendments to the constitution and the likes.

Informed sources here said that former law minister Sharifuddin Pirzada and attorney general Aziz Munshi have drafted proposals for a federal court, with sweeping powers to sit on judgements about the fundamentals of state governance and its application on different facets of the administrative machinery.

Its details have not been spelled out, but the new setup will obviously be some kind of a supra body and its verdicts on important issues such as amendments to the constitution about government terms will be treated as final.

The proposal will be placed before the corps commanders, which is the top hierarchy in the military, and later before the cabinet for approval, the sources disclosed. Whether the federal court will override the powers of the Supreme Court, which today is considered the final authority on almost all important matters, remains to be seen.

Different versions were available from different sources. Some insiders think that the new setup will be a link between High Courts and the Supreme Court. Others thought that it will be vested with power to allow a free hand to the present government. But most lawyers agree that any attempt to undermine the importance of the Supreme Court will create new problems for the country and the government.