ISLAMABAD: The Senate of Pakistan on Thursday passed the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023 with a majority vote to limit the Chief Justice of Pakistan’s (CJP) discretionary powers to take suo motu notice and bolster checks and balances in the higher judiciary.
Federal cabinet had approved the bill on March 28 and a day ago, the National Assembly also passed it after a few amendments suggested by the Standing Committee on Law and Justice.
PTI members strongly opposed the bill that was moved by Federal Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar in the upper house today. The bill saw 60 senators voting in its favour while 19 voted against the new legislation.
The federal government had moved the bill after two Supreme Court judges — Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail and Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah — raised serious questions over the powers of the country’s top judge, saying the apex court “cannot be dependent on the solitary decision of one man, the Chief Justice”.
The Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023
The bill includes transferring the powers of taking suo motu notice from the chief justice to a three-member committee comprising three senior most judges.
The legislation also includes a clause regarding the right to appeal against the court decision, which could be filed within 30 days and fixed for a hearing in two weeks.
The newly proposed amendments in the Supreme Court’s rules have prompted a fresh debate in legal and political circles and it is expected that the bill may be struck down by the apex court.
