The proposed changes to the Supreme Court's rules have raised concerns and debates in legal and political circles, with some expecting the bill to be challenged in the apex court.
ISLAMABAD: ( UrduPoint /Pakistan Point News-March 30th, 2023) The Pakistan Senate on Thursday passed the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023. The bill seeks to strip the office of the Chief Justice of Pakistan of the powers to take suo motu notice in an individual capacity.
The legislation was approved by the Federal cabinet on March 28 and passed by the National Assembly with some amendments suggested by the Standing Committee on Law and Justice.
The proposed changes to the Supreme Court's rules have raised concerns and debates in legal and political circles, with some expecting the bill to be challenged in the apex court.
The bill aims to restructure the jurisdiction of Article 106 of the Constitution, which would reflect collective thinking. The law minister argued that the excessive use of Article 184(3) has made executives stand on the rostrum repeatedly, causing the state losses worth billions of Dollars.
The bill seeks to solve issues of deciding when a certain case has to be fixed for hearing and whether it is of public importance. Every cause, matter, or appeal before the apex court will be heard and disposed of by a bench constituted by a committee comprising the CJP and the two senior-most judges, with decisions taken by a majority.
Any matter invoking the use of Article 184(3) will first be placed before the committee. An appeal will lie within 30 days of the bench's order to a larger Supreme Court bench, with a hearing fixed within 14 days.
