Why money matters when taking climate change to court
When Serge de Gheldere decided - along with a dozen other Belgian citizens - to take the government to court in 2014 alleging climate inaction, he didn’t imagine he would…
Wafaqi Mohtasib’s institution
The sanctity and inviolability of human rights is the essential feature of the concept of ombudsmanship and the means to achieving the ultimate goal of good governance. Maladministration and bad…
Laws for people?
JAVED was never well off but he was able to purchase a six-marla (151.7 square metres) plot of land during his lifetime. Over time he married off his two daughters.…
Anatomy of misgovernance
As flies to wanton boys are we to gods/ They kill us for their sport -Thomas Hardy The crisis of governance that afflicts Pakistan is multi-dimensional; its causes are many…
Political prisoner?
WITH Nawaz Sharif out on medical bail, many ask if a convict deserves such unusual relief. They say this may be the first time a convict in Pakistan got such…
Urban policing paradox
AS an armed force that is used internally, an effective police force is the primary tool for a state to monopolise the legitimate use of violence within its territory —…
Yet another extension?
LAST week, the law ministry sent a proposal to the federal cabinet for another extension in the jurisdiction of military courts to try civilians for terrorism-related offences. This time around, parliament…
Bad man theory of law
If you think a judicial verdict is about legal reasoning that explains how a judge came to a certain conclusion while being guided by legal texts, you don’t want to…
Intra-elite conflicts
Intra-elite conflicts in polities subject to elite capture can be great news for ordinary folk if they come with a promise of shaking things up and introducing systemic changes. Is…
Towards inclusive justice
Justice is not only about having an eloborate book of law to define individual and collective obligations, and duties and rights as citizens of a state. Justice is more about…
