An analysis of the judiciary-legislature relationship in the light of practice and procedure act 2023
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Date
2024
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UMT.Lahore
Abstract
Pakistan's judicial and legislative branches have long been involved in the juridical struggle and institutional autonomy from each other, which is characterized by a constitutional crisis. In 2023, both institutions again came at loggerheads against each other, which eventually led to the enactment of the Practice and Procedure Act. This research paper seeks to understand the institutional design, norms, and identity of each organ of the state under the theoretical framework of Constructivism. This theoretical framework allows us to conceptualize each institution, its behavior, and its implications for the larger scheme of jurisdictional competition. The constructivist analysis of the Practice and Procedure Act 2023’s constitutional norms is made to understand its potential to bring institutionality within the judiciary and office of the Chief Justice of Pakistan and its implications for the relationship between Parliament. The new constitutional norms and ideas articulated in the Act seek to end habitual practices of judicial activism and disregard for Parliamentary sovereignty. Furthermore, this research study aims to offer a contextual and ideational understanding of the institutions, their formation, and operation, such as the emergence of proactive and vigilant courts, explain the tendencies of the Chief Justices of Pakistan to be involved in judicial authoritarianism and populism leading to jurisdictional competition among the institutions. In addition, this study seeks to understand the role of ideas and constitutional norms in transforming an institution’s working and functioning within the scheme of separation of power. It holds that the Practice and Procedure Act 2023 has the potential to bring change in the institution by introducing new constitutional norms, which will eventually become institutionalized, routinized, and practiced.
Key words: Practice and Procedure Act 2023, Judicial review power, Judicial Independence, Parliamentary Sovereignty Parliament-Judiciary relationship, jurisdictional competition, and judicial resistance, constitutional norms and values.