• Registrar issues invitations for full court reference on 25th; Justice Isa turns down idea of farewell dinner
• Legal circles still awaiting notification that Justice Mansoor Ali Shah will succeed outgoing CJP

THE writing seems to be on the wall; the Supreme Court registrar has sent out formal invitations to a full court reference, being convened to bid farewell to outgoing Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, on Oct 25.

According to the invitation received by Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Shahzad Shaukat, the ceremony will be held in Courtroom No. 1 at the Supreme Court Building at 10:30am.

The development may put to rest the disquiet among legal and political circles, who had been clamouring for some kind of reassurance that all talk of an ‘extension’ for CJP Isa was nothing more than ‘hot air’.

In recent weeks, many observers had expressed doubts over whether the top judge was actually going to step down, despite media reports and statements from various quarters suggesting that he had no intention to stay on beyond the date of superannuation.

This was seemingly lent credence by the government’s insistence on pushing a hotly-contested set of constitutional amendments through parliament which, among other things, envisioned the creation of a Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) and suggested raising the retirement age of judges of the superior judiciary.

The apex court’s decision in the matter of Article 63A did not help. In fact, the decision to allow for defectors’ votes to be counted only strengthened the impression that the court was nudging things in a direction that was in line with the government’s wishes.

Certain sections within the legal community saw in the ‘Consti­tutional Package’ an attempt to retain the retiring incumbent CJP — either in his current post or as head of the proposed FCC — given his expertise and preoccupation with constitutional questions throughout his brief yet memorable stint as the country’s top judge.

According to some insiders, the CJP had conveyed to the government that he didn’t want to stay on, with one source claiming that Justice Isa’s family was looking forward to Oct 25, as it would be nothing short of an ‘independence day’ for them.

Naming the successor

There were also calls to issue a notification regarding the incoming chief justice — as had been done in the twilight of ex-CJP Umer Ata Bandial’s tenure: the notification for Justice Isa’s elevation had been issued in June 2023 — three months before his predecessor was set to retire in September.

The delay in notifying Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah as the next CJP — with less than two weeks left to his potential elevation — gave rise to apprehensions and doubts, especially within bar councils and associations across the country, most of whom have declared their intentions to resist the establishment of a parallel FCC.

The transition comes at a very delicate time; fractures within the superior judiciary are no longer a secret, and groupings within judges’ ranks are known to all and sundry.

Through their conventions and suggested counter-amendments, it is obvious that different bar associations believe that the proposed constitutional amendment may bring major structural changes to the existing judicial system, undermining the separation of powers and adversely affecting the independence of the judiciary.

Saner elements have reportedly suggested to top government figures that instead of tabling the Constitutional Package, they sho­­uld first consider engaging senior judicial officers to allay any misgivings or apprehensions the legal community may have.

“It’s time to bury the hatchet and issue the notification to end the present controversy, which is responsible for the rising friction between the judiciary and the ruling coalition governm­ent,” a close aide of the government privy to the development told Dawn earlier this week.

Court tradition

Now, after invitations to the Full Court Reference have been circulated, it seems all but certain that Justice Shah will take over as the 30th chief justice of Pakistan on Oct 26, 2024.

Such a reference is customary on the eve of the retirement of a CJP or judge of the court, and is usually attended by all the judges of the Supreme Court, to bid farewell to the departing judge in a befitting manner.

In addition to brother judges, the ceremony is customarily addressed by the attorney general for Pakistan, vice chairman of the Pakistan Bar Council and president of the SCBA.

Both outgoing as well as the incoming CJP also address the ceremony, with the former ruminating on their experience and the latter sharing the agenda they intend to pursue once in office.

In addition, the Supreme Court also hosts a farewell dinner — on behalf of judges of the court — while another similar occasion is arranged by the Pakistan Bar Council. This is where gifts are exchanged and souvenirs and bouquets are presented to the outgoing CJP.

CJP Isa, however, has expressed his inability to attend the dinner arranged for retirement night, saying that since the expected bill would be around Rs2 million, he did not want to have one. His wishes have been communicated to Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan, by the office of the assistant registrar.

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2024