JURIST - Paper Chase: Pakistan high court reduction plan shelved as AG pledges benefits for ousted judges

[JURIST] Pakistani Attorney General Malik Qayyum [JURIST news archive] has reversed a decision to cut the size of the Supreme Court of Pakistan [official website] in the wake of the November 3 declaration of emergency, according to Pakistan's News daily Thursday. Qayyum told the News that he was acting at the behest of new Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, who had told him that an 11-judge bench would be unable to keep up with the workload assumed by the pre-emergency bench of 17. The government is reportedly in the process of recruiting new judges from the provinces who would swear oaths under the post-emergency Provisional Constitution Order [text as amended]. Three days after President Pervez Musharraf's imposition of emergency rule Qayyum said that the government had decided to reduce the size of the Supreme Court [JURIST report] to 12 and would elevate lower court judges to fill out the complement of the restructured court as most of its original justices had refused to take a new oath under the PCO. The News has more.

Also Thursday, Qayyum said that contrary to his own previous statements, the 37 Supreme Court and High Court judges who were involuntarily retired [JURIST report] by the government Tuesday would receive full retirement benefits. The News has more.

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