The Politics and Jurisprudence of the Chaudhry Court 2005-2013

Description

Former Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry’s tenure, from 2005 to 2013, has been characterized by remarkable developments in constitutional politics and the jurisprudence of the apex court. This was also a period of great controversy and the actions of the Chaudhry Court polarized the debate on the role of the Supreme Court. Despite the emergence of such vociferous debate, a detailed scrutiny of the Chaudhry Court’s actions has thus far been lacking.

This volume represents an attempt to fill this gap by closely analysing the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court and reflects on the likely legacy of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry’s tenure. This volume also denotes a deliberate effort at deepening the debate that has surrounded the court’s actions during the last few years, going beyond the critique of the court on the grounds that it has acted politically and violated the constitutionally-mandated separation of powers between the judiciary, the legislature and the elected executive. The contributions to this volume provide an in depth analysis of the jurisprudence and judicial politics of the court, adding layers of nuance and complexity to the debate on the role of the Supreme Court in Pakistan’s constitutional politics.

Author Biography

Moeen Cheema has an LLM from Harvard Law School and an LLB (Honours) from the University of London. Presently, he is a Lecturer at the Australian National University’s (ANU) College of Law, where he teaches Law and Society in South Asia and Comparative Constitutional Law courses in the Masters of Law, Governance and Development programme and also lectures in the Legal Theory course in the undergraduate program. He is currently pursuing a PhD at the College and his thesis aims to present a contextualized history of the law and courts in post-colonial Pakistan. Prior to joining the ANU College of Law, he taught law at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) in Pakistan from 2004 to 2008. From 1999 to 2003 he practiced as a securities lawyer in the United States of America and became a member of the California State Bar. Ijaz Shafi Gilani received his PhD in Political Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1977. Thereafter, from 1977 to 1987, he taught in the Department of International Relations at Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad and has served as chairman of the department. He has also served as Professor and Dean of the Faculties of Social Sciences and Management Sciences at the International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI). Dr. Gilani heads Gallup Pakistan which specializes in opinion and social science research. He is also global Vice President of Gallup International and heads its world-wide Group of Experts on Opinion and Social Research.