Hon’ble Mr. Justice
TASSADUQ HUSSAIN JILLANI
CHIEF JUSTICE OF PAKISTAN

By:
RAFAQAT ALI SOHAL[1]
Editor, PLJ

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, 21st Chief Justice of Pakistan, was born on July, 6, 1949; did his bachelor from Government Emerson College Multan; did Masters in Political Science from Forman Christian College, Lahore. L.L.B., from the University of Punjab, Lahore. His lordship also completed a course in Constitutional Law from the University of London in the Institute of Advance Legal Studies and received ‘Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters’ from Southern Virginia University in 2007.

He started practice at District Courts, Multan in 1974; enrolled as an Advocate of the High Court in 1976; elected as General Secretary, District Bar Association, Multan in 1976; elected Member Punjab Bar Council in 1978; unanimously elected Member to enrolment Committee and PLJ Committee. He resigned from office bearership on appointment, as Assistant Advocate General, Punjab in July, 1979; enrolled as an Advocate of the Supreme Court in 1983; served as Part-time Lecturer in Jurisprudence in the University Law College, Multan; promoted as Additional Advocate General, Punjab in 1988; appointed as Advocate General Punjab in 1993.

He was administered oath as a Judge of Lahore High Court on August 7, 1994 and was elevated as Judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan on 31st July, 2004 where he served till the imposition of the state of Emergency on the 3rd of November, 2007.When he refused to take fresh oath, he was made dysfunctional as a Judge of the Supreme Court. After the restoration of democracy and elected Government in Pakistan, he joined as Judge of the Supreme Court in September, 2009.His lordship is an Honorary Co-Chair for the World Justice Project. The World Justice Project works to lead a global, multidisciplinary effort to strengthen the Rule of Law for the development of communities of opportunity and equity; Member of the Academic Council of the Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan. His lordship has also served for some time as Acting Chief Election Commissioner.

The Hon’ble Chief Justice has participated in several international conferences, seminars and colloquiums where his lordship spoke on issues which included “Domestic Application of International Human Rights”, “Gender Justice”, “Alternative dispute Resolution”, Forced Marriages”, “Transnational Child Abduction” and “Religious Tolerance”& etc. Some of the honors and awards received by his lordship are as under:-

· Was awarded “Key of the City of Detroit (Michigan)” by the Mayor at a function;

· Was conferred the Honorary Chair by the American Bar on its “The World Justice Project”---an Initiative to promote the rule of law the world over. Some of the other co-chairs are Hon’ble Justice Sandra Day O-Conor, Hon’ble Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, Hon’ble Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Hon’ble Justice Stephen G. Breyer, President Jimmy Carter, Hon’ble Madeleine Albright, Hon’ble James A Baker III and William H. Gates, Senior.

· In July 2008, was invited by the American Bar Association to receive the ‘2008 Rule of Law Award’ on behalf of those judges of Pakistan who demonstrated courage in upholding the ‘rule of Law’ in the country.

· The Hague Conference has appointed him as the Co-Chair of the Working Party on Mediation in Family International Law. The Working Party comprises of Judges of the Superior Courts and Academics from Europe, United States, Latin America, India and Asia.

· ‘Justice for All’ (the theme song sung at the 50^th Anniversary of the Supreme Court of Pakistan) penned down by Mr. Jillani has been declared as the Judicial Anthem of Pakistan by the Full Court presided over by the Hon’ble Chief Justice of Pakistan.

· He was appointed as a Network Judge for the Hague Body of Network Judges.

The Hon’ble Chief Justice has participated in a number of national and international conferences and presented Articles:-

· Led delegation in a meeting of SAARC Countries Legal Experts on “Harmonization of Drug Zones in the Region” held in New Delhi;

· participated in a Seminar jointly organized by Ministry of Interior and U.S. Justice Department on “ Enforcement of Drug Laws” in January, 1990 (in Islamabad);

· attended a meeting of the SAARC Technical Committee on the Prevention of Drug Trafficking as Member of the Pakistan Delegation (held at Karachi from 6th to 8th August, 1990);

· went to USA on an invitation from U.S. Ministry of Justice for a study of the American Judicial System in 1991;

· Presentations and Publications:

· Author of Books/Articles:

· Towards a Dynamic Constitutional Order;

· An Essay in Competitive Co-existence;

· The Rule of Law in Islam;

· The Judges’ Newsletter on International Child Protection, Vol. XVI / Spring 2010, Special Focus, Theme 1, Pakistan;

· Delayed Justice and the Role of ADR ;

· In December, 1991 was awarded key of the City of Detroit (Michigan) by the Mayor at a function where he made a presentation on “The Imperatives of Peace in the New World Order”.

· Presented a paper on “The Right to Marry” in Colloquium “Judicial Colloquium on the application of International Human Rights Law at the Domestic Level” held at Vienna (Austria) from 27th to 29th October, 1999 to commemorate 20th Anniversary of the Adoption of the CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women);

· Presented a paper on “implementing the Right to Marry: a view from the Pakistan Courts” in a Seminar Organized by INTERIGHTS (the International Centre for the Legal Protection of Human Rights) & CIMEL (the Centre for Islamic and Middle Eastern Law) on “Forced Marriage as an Abuse of Human Rights: legal and Social Issues” held on 16th July 2000 at SOAS, University of London;

· Co-author of Chapter on Pakistan in “Encyclopedia of Legal Systems of the World” by Herbet M. Kritzer (www.abc-CLIO.com);

· In October 2005, his lordship has attended an International Conference in Utah, USA organized by the “International Academy of Religious Tolerance and Belief” and has made a presentation on “Democracy & Islam---An Odyssey in Braving the 21st Century”; this has been published in BYU Law Journal 2006.

· Made a presentation on “Creating a World Without Walls” at a special Convocation held in the Southern Virginia University, Washington;

· As a keynote speaker made a presentation on “Justice Saveth and Defendeth a Nation” in the International Conference on the Rule of Law (July 2-5, 2008) at Vienna, Austria organized by the American Bar Association;

· His presentation at the ABA Annual Luncheon in 2008 on “Defending the Constitution under the Rule of Law” was published in the International Lawyer: A quarterly Publication of the ABA/Section of International Law, spring 2009, Volume 43 Number 1.

· Made presentation on “the Art of Judgment Writing “ in the meeting of the “Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute” in 2008 at Arusha, Tanzania:

· Gave an overview of the judgments from Pakistan jurisdiction on issues of Transnational Child Abduction and related Family Issues at the 3rd Malta Judicial Conference on Cross-Frontier Family law Issue in St. Julian’s Malta in March, 2009;

· Made a presentation on “The Maladies of International Child Abduction and the U.K. Pakistan Protocol” at the International Family Justice Judicial Conference for Common Law and Commonwealth Jurisdictions at Cumberland Lodge Windsor, England (4th to 7th August, 2009);

· Made a presentation on “Cultural and Religious Freedom, Bill of Rights and the role of Judiciary” in the Conference on Religions and Cultural Freedom under a Bill of Rights’ organized by the University of Adelaide. Canberra, Australia (13-15 August, 2009);

· Addressed the faculty of Law Students in Adelaide University, Australia and presented “Keeper of Conscience---the Role of Supreme Court in Pakistan” (August 17, 2009).

· Presented the Article on ‘Judicial Response to Forced marriages and Gender based Violence --- Mediating Tradition through Law” in the international Bar Association’s Annual conference at Vancouver Canada in October 2010.

· His lordship the Chief Justice has participated and represented in number of international meetings, conferences, seminars and dialogues. Naming few amongst many are as under:-

· Led Pakistan Delegation in a meeting of SAARC Countries Legal Experts on ‘harmonization of Drug Laws in the Region’ held in New Delhi;

· 1990---Participated in a Seminar jointly organized by Ministry of Interior and U.S. Justice Department on ‘Enforcement of Drug Laws’ in Islamabad;

· 1990---Attended a meeting of SAARC Technical Committee on the Prevention of Drug Trafficking as Member of the Pakistan Delegation (held at Karachi);

· Served as Member of the Syndicate, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan;

· 1991---Went to U.S.A. on the invitation from U.S. Department of Justice for a study of the American Judicial System;

· Served as Part-time Lecturer in Jurisprudence in the University Law College at Multan;

· 1998---Visited United States of America on the invitation from “The institute for the Study and Development of Legal Systems San Francisco, California” in connection with a workshop on “Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanisms” held from 1st to 10th June, 1998;

· 1998---Attended “Judicial Colloquium on the Domestic Application of International Human Rights Norms” held in Bangalore, India from 28th to 30th December, 1998;

· 1999---attended “Judicial Colloquium on the application of International Human Rights Law at the Domestic Level” held at Vienna (Austria) from 27th to 29th October to commemorate 20th Anniversary of the Adoption of the CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women);

· 2000---Visited Dhaka, Bangladesh and attended a Seminar on Alternative Dispute Resolution arranged by the Superior Judiciary of Bangladesh in collaboration with the Institute for the Study and Development of Legal Systems USA;

· 2000---Visited Bangladesh with effect from 11th to 15th May for participation in a preliminary Judicial Colloquium being organized jointly by INTERIGHTS, the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative and Bangladesh Legal Aid Services Trust;

· 2000---Visited San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco California from 16th to 28th May to participate in a work-travel program in connection with ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) arranged by the Institute for Study of Development for Legal systems (ISDLS) San Francisco California USA;

· 2000---Attended a Seminar organized by INTERIGHTS (the International Centre for the Legal Protection of Human Rights) & CIMEL (the Centre for Islamic and Middle Eastern Law) on “Forced Marriage as an Abuse of Human Rights: Legal and Social Issues” held on 16th of July at SOAS, University of London;

· 2003---Participated in “UK-Pakistan Judicial Conference on Child and Family Law” held at Royal Courts of Justice, London from 13th to 17th January as a member of Pakistan delegation headed by the Chief Justice of Pakistan;

· 2003---Visited San Francisco (USA) to attend the South Asian Rule of Law Dialogue with effect from 26th to 31st May;

· 2005---In October he attended an International Conference in Utah, USA organized by the “International Academy of Religious tolerance and Belief”;

· 2007---Attended the International Conference on the Rule of Law from July 2nd to 5th at Vienna, Austria organized by the American Bar Association;

· 2008---Went to Arusha, Tanzania to participate in the meeting of “The commonwealth Judicial Education Institute” from 28th October to 5th November;

· 2009---In March, he was invited to the 3rd Malta Judicial Conference on Cross-Frontier Family Law Issue in St. Jullian’s Malta;

· 2009---Participated in the “Conference on Religions and Cultural Freedom under a Bill of Rights’ organized by the University of Adelaide Canberra, Australia.

· Attended “International Family Justice Judicial Conference for Common Law and Commonwealth Jurisdictions at Cumberland Lodge Windsor, England from 4th to 7th August; in 2009”;

· 2010---Participated in the 10th Congress of the International Association of Supreme Administrative Jurisdiction held in Australia from 7th to 11th March, 2010.

· 2010---Participated in the International Judicial Conference on Cross-Border Family relocation held in Washington, D.C. from March 23-25, 2010.

· Co-Chair the 3rd meeting of the Working Party on Mediation in the Context of the Malta Process held in Gatineau, Canada from May 11 to 12, 2010.

· June 2010---Attended the Intensive Study Program for judicial Educators at Canada.

· October 2010---Participated in the International Bar Association’s Annual Conference at Vancouver Canada.

· June 2011---Attended the Working Party on Mediation of Family International Law, Hague, Netherlands.

· June, 2011---Attended the World Justice Forum III in Barcelona, Spain.

· Attended World Justice Forum-II from 11-14 November, 2009.

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani is known as a liberal, independent and balanced Judge. As a Judge of the High Court and the Supreme Court, his lordship has delivered opinions and authored judgments on various issues of domestic and international concern such as enforcement of fundamental rights (Ahmad Abdullah v. Govt. of the Punjab, PLD 2003 Lahore 752), gender equality, the right of an adult woman to marry a person of her choice in Islam (Himaira Mehmood v. The State, PLD 1999 Lahore 494). Declaring the right to education a fundamental right (Ahmed Abdullah’s case ibid) and holding that in an age of globalized inter-dependence, dual nationality should be permitted (Umar Ahmad Ghumman v. Govt. of Pakistan, PLD 2002 Lahore 521), laying down guidelines for qualitative improvement in legal (Pakistan Bar Council v. Federal Government, PLD 2007 SC 394) and medical education (Pakistan Medical & Dental Council v. Ziauddin Medical University, PLD 2007 SC 323).Honourable Mr. Justice Tassduq Hussain Jillani was a Member of the Bench which set aside the Reference against the Chief Justice of Pakistan.

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[1]. Note: This short biography has been compiled by the Editor from the following sources: Supreme Court website; Lahore High Court website; PLD; PLJ, BBC website and other academic writings, articles, books, journals and online materials available in public domain. The Editor wishes to thank Muhammad Amir Munir and Amad-u-Din Fazil, Research Officers, Lahore High Court, for providing assistance, without obligation, in compilation of this article.