Dear Mr President Joe Biden,
Congratulations on your successful completion of tenure which is drawing to a close in the next few weeks. However, being the President of the International Council of Jurists, I take exception to your reference to the entry of ‘raw politics in the justice system’ in your pardon letter for your own son, Hunter Biden.
Sir, the Constitution of the United States of America, just as any other modern democracy, does bestow a certain degree of inherent sovereign power and jurisdiction on its President to pardon. Be it a turkey or Mr Hunter, everyone deserves and has the right to enjoy the benefits of this power.
While much of your letter talks about how Congress rivals orchestrated something and made Mr Hunter a target and how his case was handled differently than others, what strikes Bar leaders like me is the poor reference to the justice system of your own country.
First of all, an incumbent President shall not say or do anything that would undermine the dignity and authority of courts and the justice delivery system. Secondly, a casual remark that ‘raw politics’ has entered the justice system has been made without any evidence or without any such debate or opinion expressed in public in the past.
Sir, while appreciating the political context under which your good self has taken this decision to offer a Presidential Pardon to your son, it is our duty to remind you to discharge your constitutional duties without stepping on the toes of the hallowed constitutional entity like the courts and justice system.
While politicians, political issues and solutions come and go, the justice delivery system is the bedrock of people’s faith in courts. The system is there forever and for all. It should not be harmed.
I, therefore, humbly request your good self to withdraw the imputation made in your Pardon Letter against the justice system of your own country. It will do a world of good to the image and dignity of the justice delivery system all over the world. Thank you.
- Dr Adish C Aggarwala,
President, International Council of Jurists
