RESTORED CHIEF JUSTICE LOOKS INWARD, AVOIDS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ISLAMABAD 001099 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/20/2019 TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR KJUS PK SUBJECT: RESTORED CHIEF JUSTICE LOOKS INWARD, AVOIDS POLITICS IN FIRST MONTHS REF: ISLAMABAD 711 Classified By: Anne W. Patterson for reasons 1.4 (b),(d). ¶1. (C) Summary: In the past two months since Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry was restored to the bench, he has dealt with crucial national issues through court verdicts and policy pronouncements. He has ordered the quick disposal of cases, announced the intent to withdraw judges from serving in executive branch functions, and directed the GOP to reduce prices on oil and gas. From such initial moves, there is every indication that Chaudhry intends to further his reputation as an activist judge, using his suo moto powers to instigate cases; however, it does appear he will steer clear, so far, of politically sensitive issues, such as application of the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) to current President Asif Zardari or the extra-constitutional actions of former President-General Pervez Musharraf. Lawyers' movement leaders swear Chaudhry will assiduously avoid anything that may threaten again his Court rule. End summary. Getting His House In Order - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶2. (U) Since returning to the bench two months ago, Supreme Court Chief Justice (CJ) Iftikhar Chaudhry has convened two National Judicial Policy Making Committee (NJPMC) meetings, which includes the provincial High Court chief justices. The Chaudhry-led NJPMC approved in its May 17 meeting a new judicial policy, to come into effect June 1. The policy includes a code of conduct for judicial staff, a call for speedy justice, and the promise to end corruption within the judiciary. A special "cell" is to be established in each high court to "entertain complaints" against "corrupt and inefficient judicial officers and court staff." These positive developments will be reinforced by USAID's "Strengthening Justice with Pakistan" program. The program provides assistance to the judiciary in the areas of access, accountability, transparency, training, and case backlog reduction. ¶3. (U) The NJPMC noted 19,055 cases pending with the Supreme Court, with hundreds of thousands more pending in the High Courts. The new policy commits the judiciary to decide bail within seven days and criminal cases within six months. The judiciary is also to focus on quick disposal of murder, narcotics, and anti-terrorism cases, and cases involving 
women and juvenile offenders. ¶4. (C) Active judges will also be barred from accepting any executive branch positions, including as acting provincial governors, ministry secretaries, and electoral returning officers. The stated rationale for this specific decision was the pressing need for more judges to reduce case loads. The GOP is already honoring the policy for those few judges impacted. Separately, Chaudhry decided retired judges would be barred from returning to the bench as ad hoc judges; petitioners were waiting for certain retired judges to opt to return in order to hear their cases, leaving an impression of favoritism. Out of the Line of Fire - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶5. (C) On May 10, Chaudhry's Supreme Court announced it would hear the appeals by opposition Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) leader Nawaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif. The Sharif brothers are challenging the Dogar Court's February 25 ruling disqualifying them from contesting elections. A five-member bench will rule on the matter. It is widely expected the decision will be in favor of the Sharif brothers. ¶6. (C) Controversially, the Supreme Court also upheld lower court decisions to grant bail to Red Mosque cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz. Aziz triumphantly returned to the pulpit in mid-April to thousands of Friday worshippers. Admittedly, Aziz received bail on 24 of 27 charges even before Chaudhry returned to the bench. Attorney General Latif Khosa told PolCouns April 18 that the initial first investigation report (FIR),filed under the Musharraf administration, had presented weak cases without even naming Aziz as a defendant; ISLAMABAD 00001099 002 OF 002 the current Pakistan People's Party (PPP) government had inherited these weak cases, Khosa argued. In Khosa's view, no court was willing to convict Aziz nor were any witnesses willing to testify against him. ¶7. (C) The CJ has given some other controversial directives in just the last two months. On May 4, he observed that his Court enjoyed full power to examine martial law regulations and government actions, even if these were protected by the 17th Constitutional amendment. In another case, the Court ordered the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) to pay funds invested by its 17,221 retired employees at higher interest rates. ¶8. (C) However, for the most part, the Chaudhry Court has avoided taking up politically charged cases. Chaudhry has assiduously avoided calls to charge former President-General Pervez Musharraf with treason or challenge the dismissal of corruption charges against current President Asif Zardari under the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO). Robin Hood - - - - - - ¶9. (U) On May 12, the Supreme Court intervened with the government to reduce the price of petroleum and natural gas. The popular decision was celebrated, though it may cause budgetary shortfalls. Newspaper editorials also questioned "if this is indeed an area in which the Court should at all intervene." English-daily "The News" went further: "The devising of economic policy is after all a concern for the executive; one must ask if judicial intervention will again blur the lines between institutions of state and add to the considerable confusion we already face in this regard." ¶10. (SBU) Nor has it gone unnoticed that, at a time when the government is busy with military operations in Swat and historical levels of displaced persons (IDPs),Chaudhry seems to be quite active visiting different parts of the country as well as abroad. In the past two weeks alone, he has addressed Pakistan's legal community in Karachi, Hyderabad, Sanghar, Rawalpindi, and Lahore. ¶11. (C) Comment: After being restored to the bench in March, Chaudhry publicly promised to implement a policy of swift and universal justice. The recent decisions by the NJPMC is meant to do just that. So far, it has been met with broad popular support. Privately, Chaudhry may have also promised to stay specifically away from cases that would impact Musharraf and/or Zardari. However, the CJ cannot stop anti-Musharraf or anti-Zardari petitioners from coming to the courts, nor under his own "swift and universal justice" promise, can he stall such petitions for long. It is yet to be seen if and how Chaudhry handles these political hot potatoes and whether he will be willing to sacrifice his own public popularity or curb his penchant for judicial activism to steer clear of such cases. End Comment PATTERSON