Ex-chief justice becomes first Pakistani judge to get elected as bencher at prestigious legal institution

Foreign Desk

LONDON: Former chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, the first Pakistani judge to be invited to a dinner by The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple on Tuesday, is likely to face protest by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) UK chapter.

Jahanzeb Khan, former senior vice president of PTI UK, and Sahibzada Jahangir, party founder Imran Khan’s friend and former adviser confirmed that a demonstration has been called at the Middle Temple in Central London to protest ex-CJP Isa’s participation and condemn the society for inviting him and elevating him in the Temple.

Jahanzeb said that former minister ministers and advisers Zulfi Bukhari, Maleeka Bokhari and Shehryar Afridi will also attend the demonstration.

Meanwhile, the Middle Temple confirmed that it has invited former CJP Isa for the bench call where the ceremony is being held for the benchers and members of the Inn to call elected members to the Bench.

The Callees include Isa, Professor Adrian Briggs, Isabel Hitching KC and Nikki Singla KC. They will be called to the bench before dinner and asked to take their place at the high table.

Isa will give a short speech to the benchers and members, the Middle Temple confirmed.

The former chief justice became the first Pakistani judge to get elected as a bencher at the Middle Temple, a prestigious legal institution in the United Kingdom (UK).

Isa, who retired as the top judge of Pakistan on October 25, arrived in London to attend the ceremony in his honour.

He studied law at the Middle Temple and his father, Qazi Isa, was also a graduate of the Middle Temple.

He had written to the administration of the Middle Temple stating that he could only attend the event after his retirement on October 25, prompting the ceremony to be rescheduled for October 29.

The Middle Temple is one of four historic and esteemed legal institutions known as the Inns of Court in London. These institutions provide training to law students and grant licences for entry into the legal profession.

The other three Inns of Court are Gray’s Inn, Lincoln’s Inn and Inner Temple.

Founded in the 14th century, the Middle Temple has held a significant position at the heart of the British legal system for centuries.

The distinguished people, who later rose as global statesmen, premiers, presidents, chief justices, monarchs, chief ministers, governors and mayors and studied at the prestigious Middle Temple during the last few centuries are: former British premiers John Major, Boris Johnson and David Cameron; Hong Kong’s first chief justice of the Court of Final Appeal Andrew Li; Princess of Wales Lady Diana; Hong Kong’s Judge of Final Appeal Kemal Bokhary; Singapore’s founding father Lee Kuan Yew and his wife Kwa Choo; British Supreme Court judges Simon Brown, Anthony Clarke and Mark Saville; Irish High Court judge Sir Donnell Deeny; Thailand’s former premiers, Sanya Dharmasakti, Pote Sarasin, and Phraya Manopakorn; ex-chief justice Allahabad High Court, John Edge, King Edward VII, King Edward VIII, Indian Viceroy; and Rufus Daniel Isaacs among others.

Apart from the Middle Temple, the other three Inns of Court (Gray’s Inn, Lincoln’s Inn and Inner Temple) have also churned out some magnificent personalities like Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Allama Iqbal, former president Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Indian premier Jawaharlal Nehru, former Pakistani president Wasim Sajjad, former British prime ministers Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair; former Indian president Shankar Dayal Sharma, former Pakistani Supreme Court judge Dorab Patel, Ex-chief justice Lahore High Court and Allama Iqbal’s son Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal, former Indian Union Minister of Defence Krishna Menon and Bhimrao Ambedkar, the former Indian law minister and the man who headed the committee drafting the constitution of India.