The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Thursday adjourned the hearing of a raftof petitions against the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act, 2023after it was informed that the federal government had decided to review thenewly-enacted law.
Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan said the governmentwanted to revisit the legislation and this time it will introduceamendments in consultation with the judiciary.
An eight-judge larger bench comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) UmarAta Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice MazaharAli Akbar Naqvi, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Ayesha Malik, JusticeSyed Hasan Azhar Rizvi and Justice Shahid Waheed conducted the hearingwhich was put off shortly after it commenced.
As the hearing was set into motion on Thursday, AGP Mansoor hurried towardsthe rostrum and said the law pertaining to the CJP’s suo motu powers dealtwith several other aspects as well.
Referring to the Supreme Court (Practice & Procedure) Act, 2023 and theSupreme Court (Review of Judgements and Order) Act 2023, the AGPmaintained: “We have two laws and both have similarities in the sections ofreview and hiring a lawyer.”
AGP Awan highlighted that the Supreme Court (Practice & Procedure) Act,2023 was more extensive and included provisions related to the internalaffairs of the court. “It is necessary to arrive at a solution regardingwhich of the two legislations can be relied upon,” he added.
Read Top Stories
CJP Bandial intervened, saying “We are happy that the government and theParliament are bringing amendments to overlapping laws. The governmentshould consult with the apex court when making laws related to thejudiciary,” he observed, pointing out that sections 4 and 6 were similar inthe review judgments law.
The CJP further remarked that the Parliament could be told to look into theharmonization of both the laws. “We welcome your proposal,” he added.
The AGP then said the legislation done on the top court’s administrativematters did not take into account the judiciary’s advice. “Amendments tothe law will now be made with the Supreme Court’s consultation. Other thanthe legislations, advice will also be sought on other matters,” he added.
