What right does government have to intervene in law?

Monday, 17 August 2009

A Supreme Court judge removed from office by the Musharraf Pakistani Government will tonight join legal colleagues from the US, Australia and New Zealand in a forum dealing with a key issue of democracy: the rule of law.

The event - called The Judiciary, the Executive and the Rule of Law - brings together an eminent panel:

• The Hon. Sir Anthony Mason, AC KBE QC, Former Chief Justice, High Court of Australia;
  
• The Hon. Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, Supreme Court of Pakistan;
  
• The Hon. Justice Grant Hammond, New Zealand Court of Appeal;
  
• The Hon. Judge J Clifford Wallace, Senior Circuit Judge and Emeritus Chief Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit;
  
• The Hon. Professor Alexander Downer, former Minister for Foreign Affairs and Visiting Professor in History & Politics, University of Adelaide;
  
• The Hon. Justice David Bleby, Supreme Court of South Australia (chair of the forum);
  
• The Hon. Justice Chris Kourakis, Supreme Court of South Australia (forum moderator).

The forum, organised by the University of Adelaide Law School and the Law Society of South Australia, will be held at 5.15pm tonight (Monday 17 August) in Elder Hall.

"We're delighted to have such an esteemed judicial group joining us to discuss this important issue for the legal fraternity and civil society," says one of the organisers of the event, Dr Paul Babie, Associate Dean (Research) with the University of Adelaide Law School.

"The forum relates extensively to what happened in Pakistan, when President Musharraf dismissed Pakistan Supreme Court judges because they didn't agree with him in their decisions. Justice Jillani, one of our speakers, was removed from office when he refused to comply with the order requiring a new judicial oath to the Musharraf Presidency.

"Justice Jillani, who was reinstated in 2008, was at the forefront of this issue both in Pakistan and internationally. He was awarded the American Bar Association Rule of Law Award for the stand he took on this issue."

For more information about the event, including costs of attending, visit: http://law.adelaide.edu.au

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