Please - Odhikar

(b) In addition, the proceeds, properties and assets derived directly or indirectly from the
commission of genocide, crimes against humanity, or conspiracy or abetment to these crimes be
forfeited.
The enactment of such a radical piece of legislation will not by itself remedy the gaping flaws
that have emerged in India's criminal justice system. But its enactment if accompanied by radical
police reform will radically shake the immunity of class, caste and privilege that have guided our
system and re-open the debate for an independent, confident, upright police force more than ever
before.
It is about time that we take this bold step forward.
Multiple Legalities and the Debt of Morality
for the Pakistani Subject
By Dr. Saeed ur Rahman*, Pakistan
Pakistan inherited the legal structures of the British Empire in 1947 and, therefore, had a
legal regime that followed the structures of the Common Law system. Alongside this
system existed other systems of justice dissemination such as the jirga System of the
Federally Administered Tribal Area. The local traditions of distributing justice were also
practised, but without an explicit approval from the state: for example, the system of panchait in
the villages of Punjab and the Vadera acting as the judge in Sindh. These different legal systems
co-existed within Pakistan at the time of its inception and continue tody in different forms.
The British Common Law continues to operate subject to various amendments by different
governments. The amendments introduced by Zia ul Haq, the martial law administor, are
discussed below because of their role in severely affecting the status of human rights in Pakistan.
The tribal system of justice operates in areas collectively labelled the 'Federally Administered
Tribal Areas'. The State of Pakistan has no legal jurisdiction over these areas, except in the form
of the Office of the Political Agent. The Political Agent is a representative of the Federal
Government and mediates between the Tribal Areas and the Government. The tribes are
constitutionally and jurisprudentially free to conduct their own legal and social practices except
when they have to interact with the Political Agent. The Political Agent administers government
subsidies to the tribes and the arrival and departure of people to and from the tribal area. The
rights of a victim and/or a witness under the tribal legal system are controlled by the jirga
(assembly) system. The Chief of a Tribe heads a jirga and the Political Agent is the adjudicating
authority. The jirga comprises of prominent people and elders of the tribe who pass judgement
on civil and criminal proceedings. The rights, suitability to testify, and the safety of a victim or
188
Report 2005