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Integrity Scorecard

2007 Assessment

Pakistan: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Pakistan: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Rule of Law
Indicators		Score
74	Is there an appeals mechanism for challenging criminal judgments?	50
75	In practice, do judgments in the criminal system follow written law?	100
76	In practice, are judicial decisions enforced by the state?	75
77	Is the judiciary able to act independently?	88
78	Are judges safe when adjudicating corruption cases?	100
79	Do citizens have equal access to the justice system?	64

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

Is there an appeals mechanism for challenging criminal judgments?

74a: In law, there is a general right of appeal.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Order 41 through Order 45 of the Civil Procedure Code provides the citizens with the general right of appeal.

Interview with Moazzam Butt, advocate, PHC, Peshawar

74b: In practice, appeals are resolved within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments: The doctrine of due process of law has been embodied in Articles 4 and 9 of the constitution of Pakistan. However, in practice, it is often abused and powerful actors escape accountablity because common people do not dare take a stand against them.

References: Interview with Moazzam Butt, advocate, PHC, Peshawar

Peer Review Comments: [ LINK ] "The suspended Constitution of Pakistan provided for an independent judiciary; however, in practice, the judiciary remains subject to executive branch and other outside influences, and despite the Musharraf Government's pledge to respect the independence of the judicial system, it has taken steps to control the judiciary and to remove the Government from judicial oversight"

Peer Review Comments: The legal and judicial system in Pakistan is lethargic, laborious and expensive.

74c: In practice, citizens can use the appeals mechanism at a reasonable cost.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Interview with Moazzam Butt, advocate, PHC, Peshawar

Peer Review Comments: The process is very costly; poor people cannot get justice because they cannot pay for case proceedings and cannot meet other expenses such as travel and accomodations and because a trial is a lengthy procedure. Only those who have enough money win their cases.

Peer Review Comments: The legal and judicial system is very expensive for complainants and it takes ages to settle issues.

In practice, do judgments in the criminal system follow written law?

75: In practice, do judgments in the criminal system follow written law?

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Interview with Moazzam Butt, advocate, PHC, Peshawar

In practice, are judicial decisions enforced by the state?

76: In practice, are judicial decisions enforced by the state?

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Interview with Moazzam Butt, advocate, PHC, Peshawar

Peer Review Comments: Deportation of Mian Nawaz Sharief is a clear violation of a Supreme Court verdict. Generally judicial decisions are enforced by the state.

Is the judiciary able to act independently?

77a: In law, the independence of the judiciary is guaranteed.

Score:

YES

Comments: Both in law and in practice the independence of the judiciary is protected and guaranteed.

References: Interview with Moazzam Butt, advocate, PHC, Peshawar

77b: In practice, national-level judges are protected from political interference.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Interview with Moazzam Butt, advocate, PHC, Peshawar

Peer Review Comments: [ LINK ] " The suspended Constitution of Pakistan provided for an independent judiciary; however, in practice, the judiciary remains subject to executive branch and other outside influences, and despite the Musharraf Government's pledge to respect the independence of the judicial system, it has taken steps to control the judiciary and to remove the Government from judicial oversight" 2- [ LINK ]

"The Legal Framework Order, or LFO as it is commonly known, has been under fire inside and outside Pakistan for the changes it brought in 2002 to the 1973 Constitution, although it was just the latest in a seemingly endless series of challenges and changes to the constitution. In fact, the present military ruler General Pervez Musharraf took powers in 1999 from an elected government that alone had effected 29 constitutional amendments. However, the LFO gained notoriety because of how it institutionalised the role of the military in national politics and administration, in order that one person might be the chief executive and president at the same time"

Peer Review Comments: No, the judiciary have traditionally been a partner to the executive with some exceptions.

Peer Review Comments: When the Supreme Court judges were beginning to work independently and actively, the President proclaimed a constitutional emergency in Pakistan. This is an example of the executive's interference with the judiciary.

77c: In law, there is a transparent and objective system for distributing cases to national-level judges.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: The chief justice of the high court or the chief justice of the Supreme Court assigns and distributes cases to the judges of their courts. In case of the lower courts, the session judges distribute cases among the other additional session judges, and the senior civil judge assigns cases to civil judges.

Interview with Moazzam Butt, advocate, PHC, Peshawar

Peer Review Comments: Not only judges participate in case distribution, but their clerical staff also participate in deciding whether to hand over cases to smaller courts. Clients may pay a bribe to put cases in their favorite courts.

Peer Review Comments: Over the years, the judiciary has tended to be influenced by the executive.

77d: In law, national-level judges are protected from removal without relevant justification.

Score:

YES

Comments: The chief justice of Paksitan, Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, was suspended by the government and made non-functional on March 10, 2007, under a presidential reference against him. But the Supreme Court of Pakistan reinstated him on July 20, 2007.

References: Interview with Moazzam Butt, advocate, PHC, Peshawar

Peer Review Comments: The first example of reinstatement of a chief justice was observed in 2007. Otherwise, every branch of the government and especially the Army, removes judges like civil servants in other administrative posts.

Peer Review Comments: This is generally true. However, before the current judicial crisis, the government almost always had their way in dealing with the judiciary.

Are judges safe when adjudicating corruption cases?

78a: In practice, in the last year, no judges have been physically harmed because of adjudicating corruption cases.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Interview with Moazzam Butt, advocate, PHC, Peshawar

Peer Review Comments: [ LINK ] "(AP) A suicide bomber killed 15 people including a judge after blowing himself up inside a courtroom in a southwestern Pakistani province that has seen intense civil conflict for years, police said" We won't know until the investigations are finished why someone killed that judge.

Peer Review Comments: During the past year, judges were punished for standing up against the civil and military executive.

78b: In practice, in the last year, no judges have been killed because of adjudicating corruption cases.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there were no documented cases of judges being killed related to their involvement in a corruption case during the study period. YES is a positive score. NO: A NO score is earned if there were any documented cases where a judge was killed because of his/her participation in a corruption trial. The relationship between a mysterious death and a judge\'s involvement in a case may not be clear, however the burden of proof here is low. If it is a reasonable assumption that a judge was killed in relation to his or her work on corruption issues, then the indicator is scored as a NO. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments:

References: Interview with Moazzam Butt, advocate, PHC, Peshawar

Do citizens have equal access to the justice system?

79a: In practice, judicial decisions are not affected by racial or ethnic bias.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Interview with Moazzam Butt, advocate, PHC, Peshawar

Peer Review Comments: 1- [ LINK ] Judges have used ethnic and religious grounds to delay cases.

Peer Review Comments: Judicial decisions are affected by racial or ethnic bias more often than not.

79b: In practice, women have full access to the judicial system.

Score:

100

Comments: Local traditions in some areas, distance from the courts, and other reasons can make it difficult for the women to access courts. Still, they are struggling to overcome lots of discriminatory attitudes that are prevalent in the society.

References: Interview with Moazzam Butt, advocate, PHC, Peshawar

Peer Review Comments: 1- Women lawyers demand basic facilities [ LINK ] "PESHAWAR: Women lawyers and litigants in the NWFP have expressed concern over gender discrimination in the judicial system and demanded federal and provincial governments provide them basic facilities in courts" 2-www.pakistan.gov.pk/divisions/women-development-division/media/08chp7.pdf Page 15/15 can tell how many judges are female Due to cultural differences and religious vision, women are treated differently and as inferior by courts in Pakistan.

Peer Review Comments: The judicial system is male-dominated especially in the provinces of NWFP and of Balochistan. In general, women face more barriers to registering their cases.

79c: In law, the state provides legal counsel for defendants in criminal cases who cannot afford it.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Interview with Moazzam Butt, advocate, PHC, Peshawar

Peer Review Comments: But the quality of the free legal counsel is lower than the government's side.

79d: In practice, the state provides adequate legal counsel for defendants in criminal cases who cannot afford it.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Interview with Moazzam Butt, advocate, PHC, Peshawar

Peer Review Comments: Agreed, but the quality of the free legal counsel is lower than the government's side.

79e: In practice, citizens earning the median yearly income can afford to bring a legal suit.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Interview with Moazzam Butt, advocate, PHC, Peshawar

Peer Review Comments: Bringing a legal suit is far too expensive to be available to a citizen earning the median salary.

Peer Review Comments: Though legal suits are affordable for the middle class to file initially, the length of proceedings causes them to become unaffordable.

79f: In practice, a typical small retail business can afford to bring a legal suit.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Interview with Moazzam Butt, advocate, PHC, Peshawar

79g: In practice, all citizens have access to a court of law, regardless of geographic location.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Interview with Moazzam Butt, advocate, PHC, Peshawar

Peer Review Comments: The legal system is centralized. All high courts and supreme courts are in capitals of a state or province. The districts are big, so rural populations face geographical and transportation problems in reaching courts.

Peer Review Comments: Courts are not available for most citizens. It requires traveling costs to get to where these courts are located; most of the courts located in rural areas only deal with small cases.