Legal questions remain unanswered

LAHORE - Despite the restoration of deposed CJP Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry many constitutional and legal questions are still unanswered.
The big question is whether a judgment passed by a seven-member Supreme Court bench nullifying emergency and PCO on November 3, 2007 soon after it was imposed, still holds the field. Whether Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar tenure as CJP would be considered in the line with constitutional provisions. What would be the status of the new judges who were appointed while PCO was in field and they were not judges at the time of PCO as Justice Dogar and others were?
The legal experts say these are very complex question and could only sorted out after the issuance of notification. They, however, were of the view that the ball is in the court of parliament. Justice Dogar would be termed as de facto CJP unless and until the parliament endorses November 3 unconstitutional step with two third majority.
They further said the situation could take a new turn if a SC bench, after CJP reinstatement, pronounced the seven-member judges verdict setting aside PCO still holds the field. That means all the subsequent judges would have to go home.
From the time of imposition of PCO to the restoration of CJP and others, the judges in superior court could easily be divided into five categories.
First category is of the judges who were judges on November 3 but they opted to take oath under PCO. Second is the category of the judges who were appointed a day before lifting the PCO on December 15. In third category fall the judges who were appointed after the restoration of constitution affected with PCO. Some 43 judges were axed under PCO.