CJP convenes full court meeting tomorrow amid rising concerns among judges over 27th Amendment

• Justice Salahuddin Panhwar becomes third judge to request deliberation on amendment as justices Shah and Minallah resigned in protest
• Full court to examine implications against Articles 175, 175A, 189, 190, 191, and 209

ISLAMABAD: In a significant development following the enactment of the contentious 27th Constitutional Amendment, Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi convened a full court meeting on Friday after receiving requests from multiple Supreme Court judges to deliberate on the amendment’s implications for the judiciary.

The call for the full court meeting came after Justice Salahuddin Panhwar became the third judge to formally request a judicial review of the amendment, which had been signed into law earlier in the day by President Asif Ali Zardari. The president’s assent, as per the summary obtained by Dawn, reads: “The Constitution (Twenty-Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2025, is assented to, as advised by the prime minister, at para 5 of the summary.”

Earlier, senior puisne justices Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Athar Minallah had written separate letters urging the Chief Justice to convene a full court or judicial conference. Both justices resigned on Thursday evening in protest against the 27th Amendment, highlighting the depth of dissent within the judiciary.

Justice Panhwar’s detailed plea

In a comprehensive two-page letter, Justice Panhwar requested that the full court examine the amendment clause by clause and assess its implications against Articles 175, 175A, 189, 190, 191, and 209 of the Constitution—key provisions concerning judicial powers, independence, and administration.

Justice Panhwar clarified that his letter was “not in protest but in … the duty that binds every judge who has sworn to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution.” He warned that silence in the current context could constitute abdication rather than prudence: “There comes a time when silence is not caution but abdication. I believe such a time may now be upon us.”

The judge cautioned that the amendment may potentially affect the security of tenure, composition of benches, appointment and removal of judges, or even financial and administrative autonomy of courts. He suggested that each provision should be tested with a single question: “Does it strengthen the independence of the judiciary, or diminish it?” If the latter, judges must raise their concerns “not in anger but in truth.”

Proposed measures and engagement

Justice Panhwar recommended commissioning a technical brief through the Pakistan Secretariat’s Law and Justice Commission and, if needed, consulting the National Judicial Policy Making Committee. He also urged engagement with the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) and provincial bar councils, emphasizing that “the bar and the bench are twin guardians of justice.”

He further highlighted the need for preparedness under Article 190 to ensure judicial commands remain effective should litigation arise, advocating a principled, temperate, and firm response to preserve constitutional boundaries while respecting comity among state organs.

“Parliament’s power to amend is plenary, but it is not without limit, even if it does not say so. The Constitution was not clay to be moulded at will; it is a covenant between the state and citizen,” Justice Panhwar wrote. He emphasized that the judiciary is a servant of the Constitution, not its master, but its independence must be preserved.

The judge concluded that “History will not remember the ease of our days but the courage of decisions,” calling for unity among judges to protect the rule of law. “If the judiciary is not free; free from fear, influence, or control—then the rule of law becomes but a phrase, hollow and without breath,” he warned.

Petition filed by prominent lawyer

In parallel, prominent lawyer Asad Rahim Khan filed a petition before the Supreme Court, seeking a declaration that, under Entry 55 of the Federal Legislative List, the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court as per the original 1973 Constitution cannot be abridged or abolished by parliamentary enactment.

The petition also sought measures to secure judicial independence, requesting “such further or better relief as may be appropriate in the facts and circumstances of the case.”

According to sources, the full court meeting, headed by the Chief Justice, will take place at the Supreme Court building before Friday prayers, as the judiciary prepares to examine the legal, administrative, and constitutional implications of the 27th Amendment.

Meanwhile, President Zardari is expected to administer the oath to the Chief Justice of the Federal Constitutional Court, which will now be formally established under the newly enacted amendment, signaling the next phase in Pakistan’s evolving judicial and constitutional framework.