Tuesday, July 11, 2006

SC seeks power to check the decisions of army court in new constitution

Justices of the Supreme Court (SC) have said that they would urge the interim constitution drafting committee to ensure judicial review power of the Supreme Court in the interim statute to check the decisions of the military court and bring army officials under civil court trial.

Monday’s meeting of the apex court Justices decided they would demand the committee to guarantee the SC's jurisdiction to check the military court verdicts and to try army officials in civil courts.

The 1990 Constitution excludes the army from civil court trials and excludes judicial review even by the apex court on military court verdicts.

The justices also decided to ask the committee to make the provision that SC judges should be appointed from among independent legal experts, law professionals and legal researchers and not from among judicial bureaucrats.

The justices will urge the Aryal committee to form an independent recommendation committee to appoint judges and check the actions of any judge found involved in corruption or irregularities, saying the Judicial Council currently chaired by the Chief Justice has failed to check irregularities in the judiciary.

No comments: