Justice Shakirullah Jan appointed as acting CJ

HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE MIAN SHAKIRULLAH JAN TAKES OATH AS ACTING CHIEF JUSTICE OF PAKISTAN Dated: 28-May-2012 Hon’ble Mr. Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan took oath as Acting Chief Justice of Pakistan. The oath was administered by Hon’ble Mr. Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk, in a simple but dignified ceremony held in the Supreme Court building, Islamabad today i.e 28.05.2012. Hon’ble Mr. Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan will act as Chief Justice of Pakistan during the absence period of Hon’ble Mr. Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Chief Justice of Pakistan, who has proceeded London to receive the International Jurists Award, 2012 which is conferred on him by the International Council of Jurists for his contribution in the field of administration of justice. The ceremony was attended by the Hon’ble Judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, Members and Officers of Election Commission of Pakistan, Deputy Attorney General, Senior Lawyers and Officers of the Law & Justice Commission of Pakistan and Federal Judicial Academy. Mr. Muhammad Ali, Addl. Registrar Supreme Court, conducted the proceedings of oath taking ceremony. Officers and staff of the Supreme Court of Pakistan were also present at the occasion. It is pertinent to mention here that Hon’ble Mr. Justice Shakirullah Jan is a senior puisne Judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and a judicial luminary, who had refused to take oath under the PCO of 03.11.2007 and remained incarcerated in house for 4/5 months, is held in high esteem by the legal and judicial fraternity alike. Before his elevation, in the year 1993, as Judge of the Peshawar High Court, Justice Jan remained actively engaged in the constructive activities of the Bar and for several years held various offices of the elected bodies of the Bar i.e Bar Council and Bar Association. After elevation the contribution of his reformative agenda as Chief Justice of Peshawar High Court was greatly appreciated and recognized by the Asian Development Bank and the International Crisis Group in its Report, “Building Judicial Independence in Pakistan” dated 10.11.2004 (ICG Asian Report No. 86 of 2004). Since his elevation as Judge Supreme Court of Pakistan, in the year 2004, he has remained member of the bench in very important and high profile constitutional cases of the Chief Justice Iftikhhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Presidential election case of General Pervez Musharraf and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, etc. He is also author of the remarkable judgments which are largely appreciated by the Bar. e.g the president Supreme Court Bar Association in his opening address of the New Judicial Year 2007-2008, greatly appreciated his judgment Muhammad Tufail Vs. District Returning Officer, Sheikhupura, (PLD 2007 SC 16) decided on 12.04.2006, wherein the important principles of constitutional theory were elucidated regarding the participation of government servant in the election process, which would subvert the democratic process and compromise the freedom and independence of the elected representatives. It was also held by his lordship that, “the true representation of the people is the essence of the democracy. The elected representative should not be opened to any influence or temptation, which may not be stumbling block in their way to serve the people of their constituency truly and freely.” The Hon’ble Justice Jan is also a judge with true depiction of the independence of judiciary, who accepted the Constitution Petitions filed by the Pakistan Lawyer Forum, Jamat-e-Islami and Imran Khan, etc, on 28.09.2007, with the minority view (of three judges against six judges) holding General Pevez Musharraf, Chief of the Army Staff and the President of Pakistan, not eligible to contest the then elections for the office of President for second term. It is noteworthy that Justice Jan has earned a great repute in the legal fraternity at the national as well as international level. He represented the Pakistani Judiciary in several International Judicial Conferences and also played a key role in the National and International Judicial Conferences held in Pakistan. He also remained a visiting scholar of the Law School of University of Hull, U.K as being invited by the Law School. The Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute (CJEI), Helifax, Canada for, “valour in upholding the principles of Rule of Law and Judicial Independence despite their personal hardships” honoured him with the title of, “The Judicial Heroes of Pakistan Judiciary under siege”. Moreover, his point of view about the importance of the judicial education for the rule of law which is essential for the independence of judiciary and maintaining public confidence was so forceful that the Hon’ble Wayne Martin, Chief Justice of Western Australia could not resist himself from quoting Justice Jan in the “Supreme and Federal Court Judges’ Conference 2011, Wellington, New Zealand”, he said that: “Justice Jan is involved in judicial education in that country but is also a member of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Most of you would know the recent turbulent events involving the judiciary of Pakistan. The point forcefully made by Justice Jan was that it was the people of Pakistan who in the end were the ultimate protectors of the independence of the judiciary. It was the people who demanded the restoration of their judiciary, and whose demands became so strong and so loud that it was impossible for the government to resist them.” Presently he is Acting Chief Election Commissioner of Pakistan, Judge in-charge of the Federal Judicial Academy of Pakistan, the Chairman of Enrollment Committee of Pakistan Bar Council for enrollment of the Advocates of the Supreme Court. Besides other important positions he is also Chairman of a Committee constituted by the Hon’ble Chief Justice for the establishment of the Federal University of Law and Judicial Administration.