National Assembly passes the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill, 2023 with majority vote to clip CJP’s suo motu powers
ISLAMABAD, Mar 29 (SABAH): In a bid to bolster checks and balances in the higher judiciary, the National Assembly passed the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill, 2023 with majority vote, tabled to limit Pakistan’s top judge’s discretionary powers to take suo motu notice.
Federal Minister for Law and Justice Senator Chaudhry Azam Nazir Tarar Advocate tabled the bill. Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, Foreign Minister Bilawall Bhutto Zardari, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan, Opposition Leader Raja Riaz Ahmed Khan and other leaders of the coalition parties were present in the house. Speaker National Assembly Raja Pervaiz Ashraf chaired the session.
The bill was passed hours after National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee on Law and Justice gave its consent.
The bill was moved by the government after two Supreme Court judges — Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail — raised questions over the powers of the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP), saying the apex court “cannot be dependent on the solitary decision of one man, the Chief Justice”.
The debate was held in the NA after the NA body passed it by including some amendments, which include:
Right to appeal against the suo motu verdicts taken up to 30 days before the passing of the Lawyers’ Protection Act
Any case that involves interpreting the Constitution will not have a bench with fewer than five judges
‘Parliament using constitutional right to legislate’
The Bill proposes that every cause, appeal or matter before the Supreme Court shall be heard and disposed off by a bench constituted by a Committee comprising the Chief Justice of Pakistan and two senior most judges in order of seniority.
It further states any matter invoking exercise of original jurisdiction under clause (3) of Article 184 of the Constitution shall be first placed before the committee for examination and if the committee is of the view that a question of public importance with reference to enforcement of any of the fundamental rights is involved then it shall constitute a bench comprising not less than three judges of the apex court, which may also include the members of the committee for adjudication of the matter.
The Bill recommends that an appeal shall lie within 30 days from the final order of a bench of the Supreme Court, which exercised jurisdiction to the larger bench of the apex court and such appeal shall for hearing be fixed within a period not exceeding fourteen days.
Furthermore, it grants a party the right to appoint counsel of its choice for filing a review application.
An application pleading urgency or seeking interim relief filed in a cause, appeal or matter shall be fixed for hearing within 14 days from the date of its filing.
The House also passed “The Lawyers Welfare and Protection Bill, 2023” aimed at protecting advocates from assaults, criminal force, intimidation and threats, while discharging their professional duties.
Both the Bills were moved by Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar.
Besides, the House passed another three bills. They include; “The Private Power and Infrastructure Board (Amendment) Bill, 2022”, “The Imports and Exports (Control) (Amendment) Bill, 2022” and “The Emigration (Amendment) Bill, 2022”.
Shortly after the bill was passed, the session was adjourned.
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, while addressing the law minister, termed the initiative “too little and too late”, and said that it should be called a “judges empowerment” bill.
When Tarar spoke, he said, “It is being said that a constitutional amendment should be made. I want them to know there is no need for a constitutional amendment.
“They should go and read Article 191 of the Constitution, which empowers the Assembly to legislate. The Supreme Court also made their rules according to the Constitution and law since 1980 and it is written on the preamble as well.”
He said Pakistan has six bar councils and “all of them saluted the House and the law for tabling the bill”.
North Waziristan MNA Mohsin Dawar introduced amendments which were accepted.
Tarar also acknowledged Bilawal’s “too little, too late” remarks but said he believed “there is a right time for everything” and the government demonstrated restraint “until a voice came from within the courts”.
The law minister thanked the members of the NA Standing Committee on Law and Justice for their input on the bill. “This bill was an old demand of the bar councils which said that indiscriminate use of 184(3) should be stopped,” he added.
Tarar said the bill aimed to make apex court proceedings transparent and it also included the right to appeal.
He said that all institutions had to follow laws passed by Parliament. The minister quoted Article 191 of the Constitution, which says that “subject to the Constitution and law, the Supreme Court may make rules regulating the practice and procedure of the Court”.
Leader of the Opposition Raja Riaz praised the government’s efforts in introducing the bill and said it would ensure the freedom of the judiciary and rule of law.
When he spoke, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif insisted that Parliament was not usurping the powers of the Supreme Court but rather legislating as per its constitutional right.
Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Mufti Abdul Shakoor said Parliament was a sovereign institution and its members had the right to legislate, being representatives of the people.
Sharing his take on the bill, Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said that the power of one person in the Supreme Court of Pakistan is being divided among three members.
“An attempt was being made to give an impression that [we] are reducing or snatching away the Supreme Court’s powers,” he said, clarifying that the house is making the entire process transparent.
The minister added that the Parliament is supreme and parliamentarians are the creators of the Constitution using their constitutional right to legislate.
“We are definitely not taking away the power of the Supreme Court, but the house is using its right. We are using our right to legislate,” the politician, who is also a member of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), said.
He added that the legislation is being enacted in two days and all essentials have been completed.
Asif maintained that this law should have been passed long ago, recalling that an attempt was made to introduce this legislation 15 years ago. “The bar was in favour at that time, while the bench resisted and we did not succeed.”
The minister said the parliament is also empowering two judges and that it is giving the right to appeal as well.
The PML-N stalwart also suggested revisiting Article 209 of the Constitution which pertains to the Supreme Judicial Council.
The defence minister questioned the judiciary’s decision to disqualify the country’s two prime ministers. “We are taught about democracy and the Constitution, so the structure of this [Supreme Court] institution should also be democratised.”
He added that the parliament should not be apologetic about exercising its right to legislate, and maintained that lawmakers should exhibit the right they possess through the constitution and law.
Asif said that the judiciary’s decisions can become part of the legislation, but it must accept by the parliament.
“They have the right to scrutinise the law we make, but not the right to legislate,” the minister said, highlighting how the judiciary is scrutinising actions of the parliament.
“Once again the legislature is before the court for scrutiny,” he remarked, adding that no institution of the power structure has people’s mandate except for the parliament.
Prior to this on Wednesday, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, during the National Assembly Standing Committee on Law and Justice meeting, said that the bill aims to have transparent proceedings in the top court. “This bill was an old demand of the Bar Council which said that indiscriminate use of 184(3) should be stopped,” he added.
Tarar said that the bill includes the right to appeal, adding that it was time for the Parliament to legislate on it now.
“After Iftikhar Chaudhry, three other judges avoided taking the suo motu notice,” said the law minister, adding that former CJP Saqib Nisar used the suo motu notice without any hesitation.
The minister said that voices were raised against the “one-man show” and that recently, a dissenting note of the two judges of the Supreme Court had also come to the fore.
“Demands were made that Parliament should introduce a law on this,” he said. He added that the Bar raised its voice on the freedom of court and that two groups praised the bill.
Tarar said that the committee proposed in the bill would regulate the matter, adding that every case and appeal before the Supreme Court would be heard and wrapped up by the bench formed by the committee.
The committee will comprise the CJP and two senior judges, said the PML-N leader.
Tarar said that the bill is in the legal interest and added that it is a constitutional freedom for a person to change their lawyer. “The right to appeal the pending cases will also be amended in the bill,” he stated.
PML-N leader Mohsin Shahnawaz Ranjha said that Constitution and legislation are Parliament’s job while its interpretation is the judiciary’s job. “Let us do our job and let them do theirs,” he added.
Moreover, Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal Pakistan’s (MMAP) Alia Kamran said that this is the right time to bring the bill.
The bill includes shifting the powers of taking suo motu notice from the chief justice to a three-member committee comprising senior judges.
Moreover, the bill also includes a clause regarding the right of challenging the decision which could be filed within 30 days and will then be fixed for a hearing in two weeks.
According to the bill — a copy of which was seen by Geo News — every clause, appeal or matter before the Supreme Court shall be heard and disposed of by a bench constituted by the committee comprising the CJP and two senior judges, in order of seniority.
The bill also mentioned that the decision of the committee shall be by the majority. However, the two SC judges in their detailed notes had juxtaposed majority rule with “dictatorship”.
They said: “Taking all decisions only by majority rule is no less dictatorship, and the absolutist approach to controversial issues is the hallmark of extremists.”
It was also mentioned in the bill that any matter invoking the exercise of original jurisdiction under clause (3) of Article 184 of the Constitution shall be placed before the committee constituted under section 2 for examination and if the committee is of the view that a question of public importance with reference to enforcement of any of the fundamental rights conferred by Chapter I of Part II of the constitution is involved, it shall constitute a bench comprising not less than three judges of the Supreme Court which may also include the members of the committee, for adjudication of the matter.
Meanwhile, in matters where interpretation of the constitutional provision is involved, the committee shall constitute a bench comprising not less than five judges of the apex court.
The bill also grants the party the to appoint counsel of its choice for filing a review application under Article 188 of the Constitution. It should be noted that the counsel, for this purpose, shall mean an advocate of the Supreme Court.
“An application pleading urgency or seeking interim relief, filed in a cause, appeal or matter, shall be fixed for hearing within fourteen days from the date of its filing,” the bill read.