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" "STANDING" AND "LOCUS STANDI"A STUDY OF RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN PAKISTAN AND UNITED STATES "STANDING" AND "LOCUS STANDI"‑‑A STUDY OF RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN PAKISTAN AND UNITED STATES   By   Zulfiqar Hameed, Police Service of Pakistan   INTRODUCTION   The question of who can sue, specially in the Supreme Court, is vitally important as it forms part of the wider theory of separation of powers and quintessentially determines the distribution of political power between different branches of Government. In the words of learned Judge Hand "A constitution is primarily an instrument to distribute political power" and the distribution of Judicial power in a state largely revolves around the issue of who can sue. In Pakistan the ability of a 'person to sue is called locus standi whereas under American law it is known‑as standing to sue.   For the purpose of comprehension we have limited the scope of the present discussion to the constitutional jurisdiction of both Supreme Courts. In the Pakistani context we shall examine the recent developments in the exercise‑of the Supreme Court's Original Jurisdiction under Article 184(3) of the Constitution. In the case of U.S. the role of standing in the exercise of jurisdiction by the U.S. Supreme Court shall be examined.   THE PAKISTANI EXPERIENCE   LOCUS STANDI   Locus standi has been defined in the Black's Law Dictionary as follows:   "A place of standing; Standing in the Court. A right of appearance in a Court of justice, or before a legislative body, on a given question". (I)   In law locus standi denotes the right of a person to approach a Court of law because a wrong has been…