Verdict on writing to Swiss govt to be accepted: PM

LAHORE: Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani has said if the Supreme Court rules in favour of writing a letter to the Swiss authorities, the government will accept it and implement the verdict.

He also assured that any court ruling about $60 million, lying in the Swiss banks, would also be accepted and implemented. Talking to reporters after the 9th Convocation of the Lahore College for Women University (LCWU) on the university premises, Gilani promised that the government would respect all court decisions. “My appearance in the Supreme Court shows that we respect the court and that the government believes in strengthening the institutions,” the premier said.

Replying to a question, the PM said: “We have a mandate for five years, and I am the first prime minister in the history of Pakistan who has served the country for the longest period without any support from the army.” He said all his actions were in accordance with the Constitution and for the rule of law. However, he termed the opposition’s demand for early elections illogical.

The premier said parliament, and not any other country, would decide the fate of supply route for the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) forces, stationed in Afghanistan. He said the supply routes were closed, Shamsi Airbase in Balochistan was got vacated from the US forces and Bonn conference was boycotted by Pakistan after the US-led forces launched an attack on a Pakistani check-post on Nov 28, 2011.

“We did it because we are not answerable to any other country,” Gilani said, adding that Pervez Musharraf had succumbed to foreign pressure and accepted the US demands on a single phone call. He said the issue had been referred to the Parliamentary Committee on National Security. After getting its recommendations, a joint session of parliament would be convened for a final decision. “The government will be bound to follow the decision,” he added.

Gilani said there would be no institutional clash if all state organs perform their duties within their ambit. The PM said a dictator came into power claiming that he would end corruption and poverty, but he failed to do so even after remaining in power for a decade. He claims that the nation was missing him and that he will come back. “But we want to tell the nation that there is no chance of his coming back,” he added.

Gilani said the government challenges the opposition for any upcoming election and would compete with it with full confidence. He said it was the job of the opposition to criticise the government and the people should let them fulfil their duty. Rejecting allegations of the opposition partiesÇ he said the nation knew what the opposition parties had done during their terms in office.

The PM said he would not make tall claims that all problems of the people had been solved. However, he assured that the government would overcome the energy crisis and end electricity and gas loadshedding within six months by resolving the issue of circular debt. He said over 3,300 megawatt electricity had been added to national grid.

Gilani said the government had presented the national economic policy in the National Assembly, and it would be approved after the opposition parties extended their suggestions in this regard.

Earlier, the prime minister addressed the convocation. Referring to his appearance in the Supreme Court on Thursday, the prime minister said in a lighter vein: “Yesterday, I was among the black coats, and today among the black robes (a reference to gowns of the graduating students).”

Agencies add: The prime minister said if the institutions worked within their ambit as defined by the Constitution, then there would be no rift.

Regarding the opposition’s call for an early election in the country, Gilani said the opposition wanted to humiliate the government but it was an elected government’s duty to show magnanimity towards them.

PM Gilani said he had given a policy statement about the economy on the floor of the National Assembly and the government was waiting for proposals from the opposition in this regard. “My government takes pride in the fact that the National Assembly passed a unanimous Bill on National Commission on the Status of Women yesterday,” he added.

Lauding the role of LCWU, the premier called upon the management to produce future leaders and professionals, who could face upcoming challenges. He directed the Federal Ministry of Information Technology to set up an IT campus at the LCWU and asked the university management to prepare PC-I for restructuring and refurbishing of a library in the next ADP.

About the role of the media in today’s Pakistan, the prime minister said he sees it responsible rather than hostile. Prof Dr Bushra Mateen, former vice-chancellor of LCWU, was awarded the title of Professor Emeritus by PM Gilani.

If state waives immunity to its heads, no protection in Swiss law

ISLAMABAD: The Swiss law clearly states that if any state expressly waives the immunity of its head of state, then he cannot invoke immunity in Switzerland, according to the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, which has a special page titled “Immunity of holders of political office and of states.”

The details of this specific law are available on the web page of the Swiss Foreign Affairs Department under the link http://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home/topics/intorg/chres/imdig.html

The web page says in accordance with the Federal Supreme Court, under certain conditions a foreign (head of) state can be summoned before a Swiss court. A distinction must be drawn between:

* whether the foreign state acted in the exercise of sovereign authority (sovereign act or act of state, “acta iure imperii”) or

* whether it acted as a subject of private law equal to a private person (legal transactions, “acta iure gestionis”).

This Swiss law will clarify a lot of confusion currently prevailing in Pakistan whether President Asif Ali Zardari enjoys immunity in Switzerland if the Supreme Court denies him the immunity and a letter is written to the Swiss authorities to reopen his money laundering cases.

Following is the full text of the Swiss law, as available on the web page of the Department of Foreign Affairs:

“To enable them to exercise their office unhindered, heads of state enjoy full immunity against legal proceedings abroad. Heads of government and foreign ministers can also claim immunity when travelling abroad. In certain circumstances, this also applies to other members of government in the exercise of their duties.

Besides the personal immunity of officeholders, states and their property also enjoy immunity. Immunity of holders of political office

While abroad, serving heads of state enjoy absolute immunity against criminal proceedings in all actions that otherwise would have been subject to the jurisdiction of these states. The immunity of heads of state is a principle embodied in customary international law.

According to the Federal Supreme Court, immunity is weakened in the following two cases:

* When a state expressly waives the immunity of its head of state, the head of state cannot invoke immunity.

* When a head of state leaves office, immunity no longer holds. A former head of state can claim immunity at most for actions undertaken in the exercise of official functions. If such a connection does not exist, the former head of state can be legally prosecuted.

* Decision of the Federal Supreme Court in the Marcos case (115 Ib 496, p. 500) (fr)

Heads of state have no immunity in the case of war crimes. The statutes of the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda make provision for the fact that a defendant’s official position for qualified war crimes, e.g. as head of state, does not relieve such person of criminal responsibility.

The case of Augusto Pinochet, the former Chilean dictator, revived the debate over the criminal responsibility of former heads of state for qualified crimes committed while in office. General Pinochet was held not to be immune from arrest for alleged acts of torture.

In contrast to criminal proceedings, there is less agreement on the immunity of heads of state with respect to offences under civil law. One body of legal doctrine holds that both the official actions and the private actions of heads of state enjoy immunity from civil law proceedings. Another body takes the view that immunity extends only to official, and not private, actions.

Immunity of states and their property

In Europe, the European Convention on State Immunity of 16 May 1972 regulates protection of the property of foreign states. Non-member states of the Council of Europe may also accede to this convention. Very few states have ratified the convention. In Switzerland, the convention entered into force on 7 October 1982.

On 2 December 2004, the General Assembly of the United Nations (UNO) adopted a universal convention on the jurisdictional immunities of states and their property. Switzerland will sign this convention.

Switzerland does not have a law that regulates the application of the immunity of states under international law. In accordance with the Federal Supreme Court, under certain conditions a foreign state can be summoned before a Swiss court. A distinction must be drawn between

* whether the foreign state acted in the exercise of sovereign authority (sovereign act or act of state, “acta iure imperii”) or

* whether it acted as a subject of private law equal to a private person (legal transactions, “acta iure gestionis”).

Only in the first case can the state claim jurisdictional immunity. In the second case, by contrast, the state can be summoned before a Swiss court, but only on condition that there is a connection between the civil legal relationship and Swiss territory.

According to the Federal Supreme Court, Switzerland can also impose sanctions on the foreign state. What holds for jurisdictional immunity also holds in principle for immunity from measures of constraint: Measures of constraint may not be taken against assets and property intended for the performance of public functions.

A state can expressly waive its immunity from jurisdiction and constraint. Such a waiver can take place in various ways, either before a dispute materialises or ad hoc in a lawsuit. Since 1918, the Federal Supreme Court has followed a restrictive line on the immunity of states.

Zardari should prove his Swiss money is legal: Nawaz

SUKKUR: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday said President Asif Ali Zardari should prove to the masses that the money stashed away in the Swiss banks was legal.

Talking to media persons in Pir Jo Goth, Nawaz said if the money in Swiss banks was not clean, it should be brought back to Pakistan. Directly addressing President Zardari, he asked, “If your assets in the Swiss banks are legal, why is your government not writing a letter to the Swiss authorities?”

Nawaz said the president had sabotaged the Charter of Democracy (CoD), which had led to the current crisis. He said that the government should obey the orders of the Supreme Court, adding that the court’s decision was right but the government had adopted a policy of fighting and defiance and created a crisis by confronting institutions, including the Supreme Court.

“Why is the prime minister not implementing the apex court’s orders?” he questioned. The PML-N chief said if the solution to the existing crisis lay in resignation from assemblies then his party was ready to resign today. However, he said his party did not resign because in the absence of his legislators the ruling party might pass resolutions that could be harmful for the country. The PML-N chief said all political forces should unite to pull the country out of multiple crises.

Nawaz said that he had met with late Pir Pagara while he was in hospital and discussed the unification of the PML factions since that was a wish of the late PML-F chief. He said he would try his level best to fulfill the wish of the late Pir.

The PML-N chief said the government and its coalition partners were demonstrating irresponsibility given the current political crisis. He said that if the government were exploiting the Supreme Court then coalition partners were equally responsible for this exploitation. Nawaz said the opposition parties would meet again soon.

He said that PML-N’s stance on the formation of new provinces was very clear and had already been published in the press. Agencies add: Nawaz Sharif said if the government did not implement the NRO verdict, the PML-N would be in the forefront to ensure full respect to the court and implementation of its verdicts.

Meanwhile, Nawaz Sharif attended a programme held to mark the 25 death anniversary of Shaheed Fazil Raho at Rahoki. Addressing a gathering at Rahoki, Nawaz said if his party came to power, it would protect the rights of poor farmers and interest-free loans would be given for agricultural schemes and jobless youths to eliminate unemployment. He said Shaheed Fazil Raho had always struggled for the protection of rights of poor sections of society, including farmers.

Will Aitzaz follow Gilani or his own view on Swiss cases?

ISLAMABAD: Will Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan, engaged by Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani to defend him in the show cause notice for contempt of court before the Supreme Court, stick to his oft-repeated stand on writing letters to the Swiss authorities in cases against President Asif Ali Zardari or go along with the defiance of his client?

Just four days ago, the leading lawyer said the government should write letters to the Swiss courts for revival of the money laundering cases against the laundering cases against the president, who, he opined, enjoyed immunity against prosecution as per Article 248 of the Constitution in Pakistan and under international law outside of the country.

On May 13, 2010, Aitzaz Ahsan stated that the government would have to write letters to Swiss authorities for reopening of cases against Zardari; the government should have written letters on the day the Supreme Court ordered; it would have to implement in letter and spirit the December 16, 2009 judgment, which declared the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) null and void; the Swiss courts could not reopen the cases against Asif Ali Zardari as he being the head of state has immunity under the international law, and even in Pakistan, he enjoys immunity under Article 248 of the Constitution.

Apart from these assertions, there had been many statements made by Aitzaz Ahsan on the subject since the NRO ruling was handed down in which he always stood for writing letters to Switzerland. How will he now go back on these statements is a key question.

However, as legal counsel Aitzaz Ahsan is professionally bound to follow the brief of his client, who has reached this stage because of his stubborn refusal to write letters to Switzerland. If he advises the prime minister as his lawyer to bow before the NRO verdict as he has been publicly stressing since long and tender an apology for delayed implementation of the judicial decision, the show cause notice may be dropped altogether and the extreme step — conviction — may be averted.

Generally, lawyers counsel advises their clients, facing contempt of court proceedings, to throw themselves at the mercy of concerned courts by tendering apologies. However, it is not known whether Aitzaz Ahsan would give such piece of advice to Gilani or contest the challenge thrown to the prime minister.

By hiring the exceptional lawyer, Gilani has played a master stroke, some analysts say while others may try to dig some conspiracy theories in the move hinting at some secret desires in high PPP circles to bring Zardari to their knees. Aitzaz Ahsan enjoys high stature and eloquence and has the skill to handle extremely tricky constitutional and legal cases. His brilliance matches the enormity of the challenge to the prime minister.

He had turned tables on the then President Pervez Musharraf when the latter had filed a disqualification reference against Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry in the Supreme Judicial Council, and got it moved to the 14-member Supreme Court bench, which nullified the charge against the top judge. The restoration of deposed judges including Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry owes much to his powerful and well-devised public campaign for over a year.

Aitzaz Ahsan had stepped in the legal battle for Zardari and Benazir Bhutto when the couple was faced with grave corruption cases. This time, he has jumped in the court to bail out the prime minister from serious entanglement.

When Zardari had invited Aitzaz Ahsan to take the floor as the last speaker at the Benazir Bhutto assassination anniversary congregation in Garhi Khuda Bux on December 27, an impression widely emerged that there has been breaking of ice between the lawyer and the president after being estranged since the government came in place in 2008.

The pre-monition proved correct recently when the lawyer filed his candidacy papers for a Senate seat as the PPP nominee. It became further reinforced when he has now been hired by Gilani as lawyer, obviously with the consent and nod from the president. During these years of estrangement, Aitzaz Ahsan has been taking an independent line on most ticklish issues, which has been at variance with the government’s stands.

While despite being in the PPP and now Gilani’s lawyer, Aitzaz Ahsan has excellent rapport with Nawaz Sharif, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President had availed of the services of noted lawyer SM Zafar when he had faced the contempt of court proceedings in the apex court in November 1997.

Will Aitzaz follow Gilani or his own view on Swiss cases?

ISLAMABAD: Will Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan, engaged by Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani to defend him in the show cause notice for contempt of court before the Supreme Court, stick to his oft-repeated stand on writing letters to the Swiss authorities in cases against President Asif Ali Zardari or go along with the defiance of his client?

Just four days ago, the leading lawyer said the government should write letters to the Swiss courts for revival of the money laundering cases against the laundering cases against the president, who, he opined, enjoyed immunity against prosecution as per Article 248 of the Constitution in Pakistan and under international law outside of the country.

On May 13, 2010, Aitzaz Ahsan stated that the government would have to write letters to Swiss authorities for reopening of cases against Zardari; the government should have written letters on the day the Supreme Court ordered; it would have to implement in letter and spirit the December 16, 2009 judgment, which declared the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) null and void; the Swiss courts could not reopen the cases against Asif Ali Zardari as he being the head of state has immunity under the international law, and even in Pakistan, he enjoys immunity under Article 248 of the Constitution.

Apart from these assertions, there had been many statements made by Aitzaz Ahsan on the subject since the NRO ruling was handed down in which he always stood for writing letters to Switzerland. How will he now go back on these statements is a key question.

However, as legal counsel Aitzaz Ahsan is professionally bound to follow the brief of his client, who has reached this stage because of his stubborn refusal to write letters to Switzerland. If he advises the prime minister as his lawyer to bow before the NRO verdict as he has been publicly stressing since long and tender an apology for delayed implementation of the judicial decision, the show cause notice may be dropped altogether and the extreme step — conviction — may be averted.

Generally, lawyers counsel advises their clients, facing contempt of court proceedings, to throw themselves at the mercy of concerned courts by tendering apologies. However, it is not known whether Aitzaz Ahsan would give such piece of advice to Gilani or contest the challenge thrown to the prime minister.

By hiring the exceptional lawyer, Gilani has played a master stroke, some analysts say while others may try to dig some conspiracy theories in the move hinting at some secret desires in high PPP circles to bring Zardari to their knees. Aitzaz Ahsan enjoys high stature and eloquence and has the skill to handle extremely tricky constitutional and legal cases. His brilliance matches the enormity of the challenge to the prime minister.

He had turned tables on the then President Pervez Musharraf when the latter had filed a disqualification reference against Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry in the Supreme Judicial Council, and got it moved to the 14-member Supreme Court bench, which nullified the charge against the top judge. The restoration of deposed judges including Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry owes much to his powerful and well-devised public campaign for over a year.

Aitzaz Ahsan had stepped in the legal battle for Zardari and Benazir Bhutto when the couple was faced with grave corruption cases. This time, he has jumped in the court to bail out the prime minister from serious entanglement.

When Zardari had invited Aitzaz Ahsan to take the floor as the last speaker at the Benazir Bhutto assassination anniversary congregation in Garhi Khuda Bux on December 27, an impression widely emerged that there has been breaking of ice between the lawyer and the president after being estranged since the government came in place in 2008.

The pre-monition proved correct recently when the lawyer filed his candidacy papers for a Senate seat as the PPP nominee. It became further reinforced when he has now been hired by Gilani as lawyer, obviously with the consent and nod from the president. During these years of estrangement, Aitzaz Ahsan has been taking an independent line on most ticklish issues, which has been at variance with the government’s stands.

While despite being in the PPP and now Gilani’s lawyer, Aitzaz Ahsan has excellent rapport with Nawaz Sharif, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President had availed of the services of noted lawyer SM Zafar when he had faced the contempt of court proceedings in the apex court in November 1997.

Zardari should prove his Swiss money is legal: Nawaz

SUKKUR: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday said President Asif Ali Zardari should prove to the masses that the money stashed away in the Swiss banks was legal.

Talking to media persons in Pir Jo Goth, Nawaz said if the money in Swiss banks was not clean, it should be brought back to Pakistan. Directly addressing President Zardari, he asked, “If your assets in the Swiss banks are legal, why is your government not writing a letter to the Swiss authorities?”

Nawaz said the president had sabotaged the Charter of Democracy (CoD), which had led to the current crisis. He said that the government should obey the orders of the Supreme Court, adding that the court’s decision was right but the government had adopted a policy of fighting and defiance and created a crisis by confronting institutions, including the Supreme Court.

“Why is the prime minister not implementing the apex court’s orders?” he questioned. The PML-N chief said if the solution to the existing crisis lay in resignation from assemblies then his party was ready to resign today. However, he said his party did not resign because in the absence of his legislators the ruling party might pass resolutions that could be harmful for the country. The PML-N chief said all political forces should unite to pull the country out of multiple crises.

Nawaz said that he had met with late Pir Pagara while he was in hospital and discussed the unification of the PML factions since that was a wish of the late PML-F chief. He said he would try his level best to fulfill the wish of the late Pir.

The PML-N chief said the government and its coalition partners were demonstrating irresponsibility given the current political crisis. He said that if the government were exploiting the Supreme Court then coalition partners were equally responsible for this exploitation. Nawaz said the opposition parties would meet again soon.

He said that PML-N’s stance on the formation of new provinces was very clear and had already been published in the press. Agencies add: Nawaz Sharif said if the government did not implement the NRO verdict, the PML-N would be in the forefront to ensure full respect to the court and implementation of its verdicts.

Meanwhile, Nawaz Sharif attended a programme held to mark the 25 death anniversary of Shaheed Fazil Raho at Rahoki. Addressing a gathering at Rahoki, Nawaz said if his party came to power, it would protect the rights of poor farmers and interest-free loans would be given for agricultural schemes and jobless youths to eliminate unemployment. He said Shaheed Fazil Raho had always struggled for the protection of rights of poor sections of society, including farmers.