Constitutional petitions in Pakistan

Several constitutional petitions challenging the resumption of military trials of civilians have been filed with the Supreme Court of Pakistan. The petitions (one of which was, controversially, filed by a former Chief Justice of Pakistan) leave no doubt that, unless the Constitution is amended (as was done several years ago for this purpose for a limited period), civilians are not subject to trial by courts-martial.

Among the many issues:

• Under what circumstances does the Pakistan Army Act 1952 authorize the court-martial of civilians?
• If the Army Act does authorize the court-martial of civilians, is it constitutional?
• What is the relevance of the Official Secrets Act?
• If there is concurrent civilian and military jurisdiction, what standards govern which court system will exercise jurisdiction?
• What is the impact of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights?
• Are secret trials permissible?
• Are military courts independent?
• Is it fatal that there is no appellate review by an independent court within the military justice system and no provision for direct appellate review by the Supreme Court?

A detailed account of the latest, lively, proceedings in the Supreme Court can be found here.