The ICJ today welcomed the reinstatement of Chief Justice Chaudhry after a majority decision of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
“The reinstatement of the Chief Justice reaffirms the independence of members of the judiciary in Pakistan,” said Wilder Tayler, Deputy Secretary-General of the ICJ.
“It is an important and significant step towards restoring confidence in the rule of law, not only after the events of 9 March 2007, but also previous instances when Chief Justices and other judges in Pakistan resigned when called upon to do so, or resigned over disagreements with the government”, he added.
In April, the ICJ appointed Dato’ Param Cumaraswamy, a former Vice President of the ICJ and the former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, to carry out a mission to Pakistan to assess the facts leading to the suspension of the Chief Justice and its impact on the rule of law. A preliminary press statement on the findings of the mission was released at a press conference in Islamabad at the end of the mission. A full report of the ICJ’s mission findings and recommendations will be published shortly once the full judgment of the Supreme Court is available.
Pakistan-Reinstatement Chaudhry-Press releases-2007 (full text, PDF)
