The full court resumed on Monday hearing a set of petitions challenging the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023.
The full court bench is headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa and includes Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Aminuddin Khan, Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Ayesha A. Malik, Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Shahid Waheed and Justice Musarrat Hilali.
The proceeding will be telecast live.
During the last session, the bench questioned why everyone surrendered when the martial laws were imposed, but agitated when the Parliament passed laws and challenged them in courts.
The chief justice said; “When the martial laws were imposed in the country then everyone surrendered, but bring the laws, passed by the Parliament in the courts.”
Justice Faez said the Parliament’s stand is that it is not usurping the rights of the Supreme Court, but enhancing its jurisdiction. Once the apex court passed a judgment under Article 184 (3) of the constitution then there is no appeal against it, adding the Parliament has provided a forum to review judgments passed under the Article.
The bench had said that October 9 (today) will be the last hearing.
The bill
The previous Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) led government had enacted the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act, 2023, in a bid to clip the chief justice’s powers to form benches and fix any case before him.
The bill was passed by the parliament earlier this year.
However, an eight-judge bench, including the former CJP Umar Ata Bandial, stayed the bill’s implementation after a set of three petitions challenging it.
The Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill, 2023, serves multiple purposes, including the delegation of suo motu notice-taking authority to a three-member committee composed of senior judges, including the chief justice.
The bill aims to ensure transparent proceedings within the apex court and safeguard the right to appeal.
The bill outlines the constitution of benches, specifying that a committee consisting of the chief justice and the two most senior judges will be responsible for constituting benches to handle cases, and decisions will be reached by majority vote.
Regarding cases invoking the apex court’s original jurisdiction under Article 184(3), the bill stipulates that they must first be presented to the aforementioned committee for consideration.
Moreover, the bill grants the committee the authority to form a bench comprising at least three judges from the Supreme Court, which may include members of the committee itself, to adjudicate on matters of significant public importance relating to the enforcement of fundamental rights.
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