Constitutional Arrangement and Common law 97

Notwithstanding   the   struggle   between   religious   and   secular   notions,   the   constitutional   and   common   law   traditions   Pakistan   inherited   from   its   colonial   legacy   constitute   the   dominant   legal   system   of   the   country.   Based   on   their   historical   legacy,   the   state-­‐oriented   legal   system   is   largely   formulated   on   the  

principles   of   English   constitutional   and   legal   traditions.327   _{The   Constitution   of}  

1973,  which  is  currently  in  force,  designates  the  country  an  Islamic  Republic328  

and   institutes   a   Parliamentary   system   of   Governance329   _{and   a   hierarchy   of}  

Courts.330  _{Article  175(1)  of  the  Constitution  establishes  a  Supreme  Court  at  the}  

Federal  level,  and  five  High  Courts  –  one  for  each  of  the  four  Provinces,  and  one   High   Court   for   the   Islamabad   Capital   Territory.331   _{The   Supreme   Court   has}  

Original   (Suo   Motu)   Jurisdiction   on   matters   of   dispute   between   Federal   Government   and   Provincial   Governments,   as   well   as   on   matters   of   public   importance,332  _{and  appellate  jurisdiction  on  decisions  of  the  High  Courts.}333  _It  

also   has   advisory   jurisdiction   on   questions   referred   to   the   Court   by   the   President.334  _{Below  the  Supreme  Court,  there’s  a  hierarchy  of  civil  and  criminal}  

courts,   culminating   with   the   High   Courts   at   the   top   within   their   respective   regions.335    

The   common   law   tradition   means   that   the   principle   of  stare   decisis   (legal   precedent)  is  followed  by  the  courts  according  to  their  hierarchy.336  _{Article  188}  

of  the  Constitution  makes  the  decisions  of  the  Supreme  Court  on  the  questions   of   law   binding   on   all   subordinate   courts.   The   decisions   of   the   High   Court   are                                                                                                                  

327  _{Martin  Lau,  'Introduction  to  the  Pakistani  Legal  System,  with  special  reference  to  the  Law  of}  

Contract'  in  Eugene  Cotran  and  Chibli  Mallat  (eds),  Yearbook  of  Islamic  and  Middle  Eastern  Law   (Kluwer  Law  International,  London  1994)  3.  

328  _{Article  1  of  the  Constitution  of  the  Islamic  Republic  of  Pakistan,  1973.}   329  _{Ibid.  Part  III,  Chapter  2.}  

330  _{Ibid.  Part  VI,  Chapters  1-­‐4.}  

331  _{Ibid.  Article  175(1).  Islamabad  High  Court  established  through  the  Constitution  (Eighteenth}  

Amendment)  Act,  2010.  

332  _{Ibid.  Article  184.}   333  _{Ibid.  Article  185.}   334  _{Ibid.  Article  186.}  

335  _{For  a  graphical  description  of  the  hierarchy  of  Courts  in  Pakistan,  see  Martin  Lau  (1994)  (n}  

327)  4  and  7.  

binding   on   itself,   as   well   as   on   the   subordinate   courts   that   lie   under   its   jurisdiction,  but  not  on  the  High  Courts  from  other  provinces.337  _{The  decisions}  

of  the  Privy  Council,  which  was  the  apex  court  for  the  British  Indian  state  and   continued   this   role   even   after   partition   until   1950,   are   treated   with   ‘due   respect’,  as  they  are  considered  by  the  Supreme  Court  to  be  ‘expositions  of  the   law   by   one   of   the   highest   judicial   tribunals   in   the   world   composed   of   distinguished  men  who  had  special  knowledge  about  our  public  law.’338  _{But  the}  

Privy   Council   judgements   do   not   bind   the   courts   and   cannot   prevail   over   the   Supreme   or   Federal   Court   decisions.339   _{The   superior   courts   have   also}  

highlighted   the   difference   between   the   foundational   norms   and   ideologies   of   the  pre  and  post-­‐partition  judicial  systems  of  the  country,  stating  that  ‘We  are   governed  by  a  written  Constitution;  and  have  an  ideology  based  on  the  religion   of  Islam.  Common  law  of  England  is  not,  and  cannot  be,  the  common  law  or  the   national  law  of  Pakistan.’340      

But   there   are   other   streams   within   the   Judicature   which   make   the   structure   more   complicated.   The   Federal   Shariat   Court   (FSC)   is   commonly   criticised   as   being   a   parallel   judiciary   within   the   country.   The   FSC,   established   in   1980,341  

has  been  given  the  remit  to  examine  any  and  all  laws  that  may  be  repugnant  to   Islamic   injunctions.342   _{The   decisions   of   the   FSC,   which   also   has   suo   motu}  

337  _{Subject  to  the  convention  noted  by  the  Lahore  High  Court  in  (PLD  1960  Lah  687),  quoted  in}  

Martin  Lau  (1994)  (n  327)  12-­‐13.  

338  _{Ibid.  9.}   339  _Ibid.   340  _{Ibid.  10.}  

341  _{Through  the  Presidential  Order  No.  1  of  1980  (incorporated  into  Article  203,  Chapter  3-­‐A  of}  

the  1973  Constitution).  

jurisdiction,343  _{can  only  be  reviewed  through  the  Shariat  Appellate  Bench  of  the}  

Supreme   Court344   _{and   particular   issues   with   this   judicial   framework   will   be}  

further   discussed   below.   The   judicial   system   also   includes   special   Anti-­‐ Terrorism  Courts  (ATCs)  which  were  established  in  1997.345  _{Initially,  the  ATCs}  

were  constituted  as  special  military  tribunals,  the  judgements  from  which  could   not   be   appealed   to   the   superior   courts   in   Pakistan.346   _{However,   after   the}  

Supreme   Court’s   ruling   of   unconstitutionality   against   ATCs   in   the  Mehram   Ali   case347  _{and  the  subsequent  amendments  to  the  concerned  legislations,  the  ATCs}  

now   fall   within   the   jurisdiction   of   the   High   Courts.   The   ATCs   specifically   deal   with  issues  of  ‘Terrorism’  under  the  Anti-­‐Terrorism  legislation,  broadly  defined   to  cover  not  just  terrorist  activities  but  even  robbery  and  dacoity.348  

There   are   two   further   anomalies   in   the   national   judicature,   in   addition   to   the   controversial   nature   of   FSC   and   ATCs.   The   Provincially   Administered   Tribal   Areas   (PATA)   and   the   Federally   Administered   Tribal   Areas   (FATA)349   _{of   the}  

country   are   directly   governed   under   the   President   and   Provincial   Governor’s   executive   authority.350   _{The   judicial   matters   within   these   regions   are   managed}  

by  appointed  Jirgas,  the  committee  of  elders  selected  for  this  purpose,  working   under   the   authority   of   the   Commissioner.351   _{The   decisions   of  Jirgas   can   be}  

343  _{Ibid.  Article  203D(1).}   344  _{Ibid.  Article  203F(3).}  

345  _{Reconstituted  in  1999  by  the  Anti-­‐Terrorism  (Amendment)  Ordinance  1999.}   346  _{Articles  12  and  25  of  the  Anti-­‐Terrorism  Act,  1997.}  

347  _{Martin  Lau  (2006)  (n  97)  105-­‐106.}  

348  _{Shabana  Fayyaz,  'Responding  to  Terrorism:  Pakistan's  Anti-­‐Terrorism  Laws'  (Pakistan}  

Insitute  for  Peace  Studies,  Islamabad,  Pakistan  2008)  5.  

349  _{Defined  through  Article  246  of  the  Constitution  of  the  Islamic  Republic  of  Pakistan,  1973.}   350  _{Ibid.  Article  247.}  

appealed  to  the  Commissioner,  but  the  Supreme  Court  and  the  High  Courts  do   not   have   any   jurisdiction   to   review   these   decisions,   unless   stipulated   by   the   President   or   the   Parliament.352   _{This   anomaly   will   be   further   discussed   in   the}  

section  on  colonial  law  below.  Moreover,  the  Nizam-­‐e-­‐Adl  (literally,  the  System   of   Justice)   Regulation   of   2009   introduced   yet   another   mechanism   of   justice   administration   based   on   Islamic   conceptions,   in   the   Malakand   region   of   the   country.353  _{These  regulations  established  the  office  of  Qazis  (Islamic  Judges)  as}  

the  main  judicial  body,  who  would  consider  cases  based  on  a  different  notion  of   procedure  and  evidence  as  required  by  national  laws.354  

This   brief   overview   of   the   dominant   state-­‐oriented   legal   system   shows   that   even  at  the  level  of  the  state  law,  different  tendencies  and  mechanisms  of  law   can   be   identified.   With   common   law   and   British   constitutional   traditions   operating  at  the  level  of  the  superior  courts,  the  manifestations  of  Islamic  law   are   evident   through   the   presence   of   Federal   Shariat   Court   and   the   recently   instituted   Qazi   courts.   The   contestation   between   the   Islamic   and   secular   (for   lack   of   a   better   word)   notions   of   law   is   also   evident   in   the   instances   of   the   Nizam-­‐e-­‐Adl   Ordinance,   which   was   implemented   due   to   a   demand   by   Islamic   militant  groups,355  _{as  well  as  the  Anti-­‐Terrorism  Ordinance  existing  under  the}  

same   legal   framework.   Moreover,   the   Regulations   governing   the   Tribal   Areas   depict  both  the  legacy  of  colonial  laws  instituted  by  the  British  Indian  state,  as   well  as  provide  a  glimpse  into  the  traditional  mechanisms  of  justice  by  using  the                                                                                                                  

352  _{Article  247(7)  of  the  1973  Constitution.}   353  _{The  Shariah  Nizam-­‐e-­‐Adl  Ordinance,  2009.}     354  _{Ibid.  Article  6.}  

terminology  and  systems  of  jirgas.  The  sections  below  will  elaborate  on  each  of   these   spheres   of   law   and   legality   in   order   to   lay   out   a   holistic   picture   of   Pakistan’s  socio-­‐legal  tapestry.