Pakistani parliament passes bill to limit top judge's powers

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – Pakistan's lower house on Wednesday passed a set of legislation, curbing some key powers of the chief justice of the Supreme Court, state-run Pakistan Television reported.

The Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Bill 2023 was passed by the National Assembly without any significant opposition.

The legislation was already approved by the cabinet in its hurriedly called meeting in the capital Islamabad, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the chair on Tuesday.

The legislation's most notable provision is the removal of the chief justice's authority to take a suo moto notice, a legal term used in South Asian countries to refer to actions taken by courts on their own initiative without a request from the parties concerned.

Suo moto notices issued by chief justices have long been a source of contention between the top judiciary and governments, with several bar councils also opposing the controversial power.

The bill, which will be sent to the Senate for approval, where the ruling alliance has the required majority, also deprives the chief justice of the authority to constitute the benches of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

If the bill is approved by the Senate, which seems likely, it will be sent to the president for his signature before it becomes law.

According to the fresh legislation, a three-member bench comprised of the chief justice and the two senior-most judges will decide whether or not to take a suo moto notice. It was previously the sole prerogative of the chief justice.

It also states that every cause, matter, or appeal before the apex court would be heard and disposed of by a bench constituted by a committee made up of the chief justice and the two senior-most judges. It added that the committee’s decisions would be taken by a majority.

The legislation also included the right to file an appeal within 30 days of the judgment in a suo moto case.

It also stated that any case involving constitutional interpretation will not have a bench of fewer than five judges.

​​​​​​​The bill allows three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, former Premier Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, and several other parliamentarians who have been disqualified by the Supreme Court under suo moto action to appeal their disqualification within 39 days of the law's enactment, Geo News reported, citing legal experts.

- Political turmoil to further deepen

The legislation, rejected by the key opposition party, comes on the heels of a detailed descending note of the two apex court judges issued earlier this week, in which they called for revisiting the chief justice's power, saying the country’s top court could not “be dependent on the solitary decision of one man.”

Justices Mansoor Ali Shah and Jamal Khan Mandokhail were part of a seven-member bench that heard former Prime Minister Imran Khan's petition to hold elections in northeastern Punjab and northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces within 90 days of their desolations under the constitutional framework.

The two judges argued that the suo moto proceedings concerning the provincial elections were dismissed by a 4-3 majority and that the chief justice did not have the power to restructure benches without the consent of the respective judges.

Earlier, Sharif delivered a fiery speech in parliament on Tuesday in support of the legislation, calling the dissenting note a "ray of hope."

However, Asad Umar, the secretary general of Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, rejected the legislation, describing it as an "attack" on the apex court's "independence."

The legislation, many believe, will not only be challenged in the Supreme Court but is likely to invite a backlash from the legal fraternity.

If any legislation passed by the parliament is deemed to be in violation of the constitution, the Supreme Court of Pakistan has the authority to overturn it.

Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, who has long been under criticism for allegedly constituting benches of his "like-minded" judges, is currently hearing a slew of crucial cases, including the postponement of elections in the two provinces, with the president asking the Election Commission of Pakistan to hold it in Punjab on April 30.

It was Justice Bandial, who had directed the Election Commission of Pakistan to hold elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces within a constitutional period of 90 days, through a suo moto notice last month.

The legislation was passed at a time when the South Asian nuclear country is facing a deepening political turmoil, which is exacerbated by an ailing economy.

Struggling to recover from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, last year's super floods, and the Russia-Ukraine war, the country is now facing decades-high inflation and critically low foreign reserves, which have fallen to slightly more than $4 billion.