Judicial Empowerment and the Support of the Legal Community in Pakistan

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to examine the nature and scope of the relationship between the support of the legal community for the judiciary and judicial empowerment in Pakistan. It also evaluates the nature and scope of judicial empowerment which increased due to the support of the legal community for the judiciary in Pakistan during the mid-2000s. Before 2005, the higher judiciary in Pakistan was not powerful in terms of making bold decisions against the interests of other branches of the state. However, the legal community supported the judiciary from 2007 onwards which resulted in judicial empowerment visible in landmark decisions by the Supreme Court of Pakistan against the government from 2009 onwards. The paper found that the support of the legal community for the judiciary leads to judicial empowerment. The judiciary has neither guns nor purse on the basis of which it can make bold decisions and implement those decisions. Therefore, the support of the legal community is essential for judial empowerment. This paper recommends strong engagement between the judiciary and the legal community in Pakistan as the two are interconnected. A strong, vibrant, active, and supportive legal community can further empower the judiciary in Pakistan.