The Politics of the Rule of Law

Article published in the Michigan State International Law Review

The Chaudhry Court : Deconstructing the Judicialization of Politics in Pakistan

The Supreme Court of Pakistan underwent a remarkable transformation in its institutional role and constitutional position during the tenure of the former Chief Justice of Pakistan, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry (2005–2013). This era in Pakistan’s judicial history was also marked by great controversy as the court faced charges that it had engaged in “judicial activism,” acted politically, and violated the constitutionally mandated separation of powers between institutions of the state. This article presents an in-depth analysis of the judicial review actions of the Chaudhry Court and argues that the charge of judicial activism is theoretically unsound and analytically obfuscating. The notion of judicial activism is premised on the existence of artificial distinctions between law, politics and policy and fails to provide a framework for adequately analyzing or evaluating the kind of judicial politics Pakistan has recently experienced. The Supreme Court’s role, like that of any apex court with constitutional and administrative law jurisdiction, has always been deeply and structurally political and will continue to be so in the future. As such, this article focuses on the nature and consequences of the Chaudhry Court’s judicial politics rather than addressing the issue of whether it indulged in politics at all. It analyzes the underlying causes that enabled the court to exercise an expanded judicial function and in doing so engages with the literature on the “judicialization of politics” around the world

Poverty and Its Determinants in Pakistan: Evidence from Pslm 2010-11

This study estimates the poverty in terms of head count ratio, poverty gap and squared poverty gap by using the fresh available PSLM data for the year 2010-11 in Pakistan. This study also finds its economic determinants by estimating multiple OLS regression.The results show that the headcount ratio, poverty gap and squared poverty gap are statistically significant 15.06 %, 2.29 % and 0.55 %, respectively in Pakistan. All of the poverty estimates arestatistically significant almost double in rural areas as compared to urban areas. The comparisons of the poverty estimates of this year with the previous ones of2007-08 at urban, rural and nationallevel show that poverty decreased statistically significantly. Among the provinces it is the highest in Baluchistan and the lowest in Sindh. The comparison of provincial poverty estimates of this year with the same ones of previous year (2007-08) depict that poverty decreased in all of the provinces, but it is statistically significant only in case of Baluchistan.Further the resultsshow that Poverty has statistically significantinverse relationship with education. Households having animals for transportation, owning residential buildings, shops and commercial buildings and living in urban areas have less poverty than those who do not. But it hasstatistically significant positive association with the household size and dependency ratio. The household size is greater in poor families than the rich ones. As far as household head’s employment status, occupation and industry is concerned, it is highest in sharecroppers,elementary occupations, and community, social services. At a policy level, it is suggested that Govt. should focus more on education and generationof employment opportunities. Further it should provide loansto lower income groups on reduced rates for housing facilities andto start their own businesses like shops.Family planning should be encouraged especially in poor families.All such policies should focus more on rural areas of especially Baluchistan and KPK in Pakistan. Keywords: Poverty; Education; Animal for transportation; Household size;  Dependency ratio; Family planning; Residential building;Shops; Pakistan

Congenital Goitre in Goats

One full-term, dead foetus was successfully removed from a 5-year old, crossbred black and white goat. The goat was stall-fed with green fodder and it delivered two dead foetuses in the previous pregnancy. The foetus had a large swelling in the cranio-ventral neck region. Upon cutting skin, the swelling revealed extremely enlarged thyroid gland having two asymmetrical lobes with the right lobe was 8.10 x 15.0 cm and the left 5.5 x 8.6 cm in size. The skin was devoid of hair, pale-white and thickened with myxedema. Histologically, the enlarged thyroid consisted of colloid goitre and the lungs were oedematous. This case of congenital goitre was unusual and differed from the reported cases in two aspects viz 1) the two lobes were enlarged but unequal and 2) histologically goitre was colloid instead of usual hyperplastic type

THREaD Mapper Studio: a novel, visual web server for the estimation of genetic linkage maps

The estimation of genetic linkage maps is a key component in plant and animal research, providing both an indication of the genetic structure of an organism and a mechanism for identifying candidate genes associated with traits of interest. Because of this importance, several computational solutions to genetic map estimation exist, mostly implemented as stand-alone software packages. However, the estimation process is often largely hidden from the user. Consequently, problems such as a program crashing may occur that leave a user baffled. THREaD Mapper Studio (http://cbr.jic.ac.uk/threadmapper) is a new web site that implements a novel, visual and interactive method for the estimation of genetic linkage maps from DNA markers. The rationale behind the web site is to make the estimation process as transparent and robust as possible, while also allowing users to use their expert knowledge during analysis. Indeed, the 3D visual nature of the tool allows users to spot features in a data set, such as outlying markers and potential structural rearrangements that could cause problems with the estimation procedure and to account for them in their analysis. Furthermore, THREaD Mapper Studio facilitates the visual comparison of genetic map solutions from third party software, aiding users in developing robust solutions for their data sets

Mapping human serum induced gene networks as a basis for the creation of biomimetic periosteum for bone repair

The periosteum is a highly vascularised, collagen-rich tissue that plays a crucial role in directing bone repair. This is orchestrated primarily by its resident progenitor cell population. Indeed, preservation of periosteum integrity is critical for bone healing. Cells extracted from the periosteum retain their osteochondrogenic properties and as such are a promising basis for tissue engineering strategies for the repair of bone defects. However, the culture expansion conditions, and the way in which the cells are reintroduced to the defect site are critical aspects of successful translation. Indeed, expansion in human serum and implantation on biomimetic materials has previously been shown to improve in vivo bone formation. As such, this study aimed to develop a protocol to allow for the expansion of human periosteum derived cells (hPDCs) in a biomimetic periosteal-like environment. The expansion conditions were defined through the investigation of the bioactive cues involved in augmenting hPDC proliferative and multipotency characteristics, based on transcriptomic analysis of cells cultured in human serum. Master regulators of transcriptional networks were identified and an optimised periosteal derived-growth factor cocktail (PD-GFC; containing β-Estradiol, FGF2, TNFα, TGFβ, IGF-1 and PDGF-BB) was generated. Expansion of hPDCs in PD-GFC resulted in serum mimicry with regards to the cell morphology, proliferative capacity and chondrogenic differentiation. When incorporated into a 3D collagen-type-1 matrix and cultured in PD-GFC, the hPDCs migrated to the surface that represented the matrix topography of the periosteum cambium layer. Furthermore, gene expression analysis revealed a downregulated Wnt and TGFβ signature and an upregulation of CREB, which may indicate the hPDCs are recreating their progenitor cell signature. This study highlights the first stage in the development of a biomimetic periosteum which may have applications in bone repair