CB examines status of special courts
The lawyer for the Defence Ministry informed the Constitutional Bench (CB) of the Supreme Court on Thursday that special courts were the courts that used special jurisdiction to try criminal cases, and said that none of the May 9 accused had claimed of not receiving a fair trial.
A seven-member CB, led by Justice Aminuddin Khan, continued the hearing of intra-court appeals against the apex court's ruling against the trial of civilians in the military courts. The court asked Defence Ministry's lawyer Khawaja Haris to complete his arguments by Friday.
During the hearing, Justice Jamal Mandokhail remarked that the Article 175 of the Constitution was the only article that outlined the establishment and jurisdiction of courts. However, Haris cited a previous case ruling that said that court martial and special courts did not come under the Article 175.
On that, Justice Mandokhail asked the question, whether or not the special courts could be called courts. Khawaja Haris replied that special courts were the courts that conducted criminal trials, using special jurisdiction.
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