The Supreme Court and the other superior courts have the authority to interpret the Constitution. However, there is a need for prudence. In the classic McCulloch versus Maryland decision, US Chief Justice John Marshall stated that rewriting the constitution is not permissible.
Rewriting the constitution refers to the court’s interpretation of the constitution that is not founded on constitutional text or backed by any constitutional law theory, tradition, or custom.
It is, in effect, reading into the constitution and filling in a supposed omission based on some high moral standards or an imagined national or public benefit that the court believes its interpretation of the constitution would serve.However, parliament alone has the authority to modify the constitution. Second, it violates the underlying constitutional norm that “authority,” which encompasses both legislative and administrative powers, is exercised by elected representatives, and democracy is the fundamental norm of Pakistan’s Constitution. In the eyes of the general public, certain recent Supreme Court judgments amount to altering the Constitution.
