10 - From Shehla Zia to Asghar Leghari: Pronouncing Unwritten Rights Is More Complex than a Celebratory Tale

Summary

This chapter critically examines the landmark case of Asghar Leghari v. Federation of Pakistan and Others in the climate litigation docket from the perspective of Pakistani constitutional law. It argues that the Leghari case is the result of an evolutionary process, remarkable in its own right, that has seen the Pakistani courts’ grow increasingly receptive to the adjudication of environmental issues in their constitutional jurisdiction. Through the analysis of environmental law jurisprudence, this chapter shoes how, progressively, various environmental law causes were taken up by these superior courtsHowever, while the pronouncements of the superior courts might be good rhetoric in many cases, it is hard to celebrate these cases as bringing about substantive change on the ground due to reasons such as the use of court-appointed commissions for fact-finding and expertise in constitutional cases relating to environment related claims. Moreover, there is a real danger that judicial activity has stultifying effects on the role of the executive in developing, implementing and enforcing environmental laws. In this light, the story of environmental litigation in Pakistan is much more complex than a celebratory tale.