Judiciary of Pakistan | History of Pakistan

Описание: Judiciary of pakistan | History of Pakistan
One of the most consequential features of Pakistan’s contemporary political system has been the emergence of the superior judiciary—made up of its provincial high courts, the federal court of Islamic law, and the Supreme Court—as an assertive and active center of power. Historically, Pakistan’s military was the country’s dominant power center, but with elected institutions and political parties pursuing more governing space, inter-institutional conflict has been the norm. In this competitive space, Pakistan’s superior judiciary has played a central role in Pakistan’s political system, arbitrating contestation between political elites and state elites.

Yasser Kureshi
Yasser Kureshi is a postdoctoral research fellow at Trinity College, University of Oxford. His book, Seeking Supremacy: The Pursuit of Judicial Power in Pakistan, is forthcoming with Cambridge University Press (2022).
In the past fifteen years, however, the superior judiciary has moved beyond just arbitrating political disputes to playing a tutelary role of its own within the political system: constraining the authority and vetoing the policies and actions of elected institutions in order to shape politics and policies in line with its own preferences. This newfound initiative has meant the judiciary frequently opposed, constrained, and undermined elected and unelected institutions. Opposition parties and state officials hoping to challenge civilian and military governments have turned to the increasingly assertive courts.

The superior judiciary’s central place and tutelary ambitions in Pakistan, and the challenges the body faces in its relationships with state institutions and society, were most evident in the events surrounding the end of former prime minister Imran Khan’s government this year. The Supreme Court compelled Khan to face a parliamentary no-confidence vote from a coalition of opposition parties by ruling that his efforts to block the vote and call early elections were unconstitutional. The decision polarized public opinion between those who thought the court protected the constitutional order and those who viewed the move as “a judicial coup.”

#history
#history_of_pakistan
#politicalhistory
#politicalhistoryofpakistan
#judiciary
#judicialhistory #judicialhistoryofpakistan