Superior Judiciary and the Changing Concept of Human Rights in Pakistan: A Historical Analysis

Abstract

The universality of human rights always had a cultural, philosophical, and moral aspect, but now it
has also political, economic, and developmental dimensions, so, extensive powers are granted to the
judiciary. In Pakistan, fundamental human rights are protected in the constitution of 1973, and
Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) under articles 199(2) and 184(4) is responsible to safeguard
them. The past two-three decades were characterized by the rise of a liberal economy in Pakistan
which promoted foreign investment and sold the unprofitable government enterprisers to foreign
investors. This phenomenon increased the responsibility of the superior judiciary to enforce the
economic, social, and cultural rights of the people. This article describes the positive and negative
aspects of this debate and endeavours to investigate the new role of the judiciary in Pakistan’s
political and social structure and also evaluates the consequences of judicial activism on foreign
investment besides the reaction of investors, civil society, politicians and economists towards it.