The International Crisis Group issued its new report today “Reforming the Judiciary in Pakistan.” You can download the full report from this location, but the Recommendations to the Government of Pakistan are very interesting.

To the Government of Pakistan:

1.  Reinstate, without exception, all judges deposed unconstitutionally after 3 November 2007, including Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry; with the Supreme Court deciding on his reinstatement to the position of chief justice.

2.  Reverse the military’s constitutional and legal changes and introduce, after broad public consultation and extensive parliamentary debate, a constitutional amendment bill to restore and enhance the 1973 constitution’s liberal parliamentary structure, including religious equality, by:

a) repealing Musharraf’s Seventeenth Amendment, including Article 58-2 (b) which gives the president the power to dismiss elected governments;

b) removing the requirement under the Third Schedule of the constitution for the president and prime minister to be Muslims; and

c) reaffirming the authority of the ordinary courts to examine laws for repugnancy to Islam by abolishing the Federal Shariat Court through a constitutional amendment.

3.  Ensure judicial independence by:

a) creating a Judicial Commission for the appointments of Supreme Court and High Court judges, guided by the May 2006 Charter of Democracy, comprising the chief justice of the Supreme Court, as its chair; the next two most senior Supreme Court justices; the four provincial chief justices; a member of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC), nominated by the PBC; the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association (in matters related to the Supreme Court); and the four presidents of the High Court bar associations (in matters related to their respective High Court);

b) adhering to the seniority rule in the appointment of chief justices to the Supreme Court and High Courts;

c) empowering the Judicial Commission to take disciplinary actions against sitting judges; and

d) rendering invalid judicial appointments to the Supreme Court and High Courts should the oath of adherence to the constitution be violated.

4.  Reduce opportunities for executive interference in the higher judiciary by immediately ending the practice of appointing retired judges to executive posts until two years after retirement.

5.  Amend the constitution to curtail chief justices’ power over transfers of judges and assignment of cases, establishing professional, managerial divisions within the courts to fulfill this task.

6.  Follow through on appropriate recommendations by earlier government legal reform commissions to improve the delivery of justice, including an expansion of court facilities, personnel and other resources.

7.  Commit to the letter and spirit of Pakistan’s constitutional and international obligations, and the precedent of the Supreme Court judgment in the Hisba Bill case, by repealing all Islamic laws that discriminate on the basis of religion and gender, including the blasphemy law, anti-Ahmadi laws, Hudood Ordinances and Qisas (retribution) and Diyat (bloody money) law.

8.  While those laws are still in effect:

a) institute mechanisms to identify and penalise subordinate court judges who fail to provide fair trials to women and religious and sectarian
minorities, particularly Ahmadis and Christians;

b) monitor cases under blasphemy and anti-Ahmadi laws and the Hudood Ordinances in subordinate courts;

c) ensure the safety of subordinate court judges from religious extremist groups who seek to undermine the trial process;

d) pass and enforce legislation to prevent false accusations of blasphemy and unlawful sexual intercourse, and prosecute anyone pressing frivolous charges; and

e) promote a broad public dialogue and meaningful parliamentary debate on discrimination in the Pakistan Penal Code.

9.  Carry through on commitments to commute death penalty convictions to life imprisonment, and encourage a public debate on abolishing the death penalty.

10.  Withdraw support for the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) anti-defamation resolution in the UN Human Rights Council.

To the International Community, particularly the European Union and the U.S.:

11.  Persuade the Pakistan government to repeal discriminatory religious laws and comply with international obligations on human rights and religious freedoms including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).

12.  Call on Pakistan to withdraw support for the OIC anti-defamation resolution in the UN Human Rights Council.