U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Friday warned Pakistan’s “hastily adopted” constitutional amendments seriously undermined judicial independence, raising grave concerns about military accountability and respect for the rule of law.
The human rights chief said the 26th and 27th amendments were adopted without broad consultation and debate with the legal community and wider civil society, warning they ran counter to the separation of powers that underpin rule of law and safeguard the protection of human rights in Pakistan.
The 27th Amendment has created a new Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) to hear constitutional cases, leaving only civil and criminal cases with the Supreme Court. It also placed the authority to appoint the first chief justice and set of judges of the FCC to the president, on the advice of the prime minister.
“These changes, taken together, risk subjugating the judiciary to political interference and executive control,” said Türk. “Neither the executive nor legislative should be in a position to control or direct the judiciary, and the judiciary should be protected from any form of political influence in its decision-making,” he added.
“A core measure of judicial independence is a tribunal’s insulation from political interference by the government. If judges are not independent, experience shows that they struggle to apply the law equally and to uphold human rights for all in the face of political pressure,” he continued.
Turk also criticized the lifetime immunity from criminal proceedings and arrest for the president, Field Marshall, Marshall of the Air Force and Admiral of the Fleet. “Sweeping immunity provisions like these undermine accountability which is a cornerstone of the human rights framework and democratic control of the armed forces under the rule of law,” he said. “I am concerned that these amendments risk far-reaching consequences for the principles of democracy and rule of law which the Pakistani people hold dear,” he added.