- Law amendment challenges lawyers' fight, says PBC vice president
- SCBA officials are critical of the timing and manner of the ordinance's enactment.
- The term “practical derogation” from the Practice and Procedure Act is “unacceptable”.
Days after the caretaker government passed the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Amendment Ordinance, 2024, several lawyers' bodies across the country have termed it a “bad law” for being detrimental to the independence of the judiciary and protection of fundamental rights. The news reported on Sunday.
Two apex lawyers' bodies, namely Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) and Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), have reacted strongly to the promulgation of the said ordinance which was signed into law by President Asif Ali Zardari after approval by the federal cabinet on Friday.
The ordinance in question provides in section 1 of article 2 of the Act that the Committee on Practice and Procedure shall determine the cases to be heard. The body shall be composed of the President of the Supreme Court, the most senior judge and the judge appointed by the President of the Supreme Court.
In addition to the amendment in Section 3 of the Act, the ordinance also provides that each case shall be heard in its turn, failing which a reason for holding it out of turn should be provided.
“Each case and appeal will be recorded and a transcript will be prepared, which will be available to the public,” he added.
Reacting to the ordinance, PBC vice-chairman Farooq H Naek said the ordinance was an unjust law and violated the democratic procedure for formation of a court under Section 2 of the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act, 2023.
“This is a bad law and detrimental to the independence of the judiciary and protection of fundamental rights for which an aggrieved person invokes Article 184(3) of the Constitution,” the senior lawyer said, adding that it was a long-standing demand of the PBC and the legal fraternity that a committee of senior judges be constituted to decide the constitution of courts and fixation of cases.
“The amendment of this law by means of the ordinance represents a clear challenge to the long struggle of lawyers,” he stressed.
Echoing Naek's view, SCBA President Muhammad Shahzad Shaukat along with Secretary Syed Ali Imran also expressed concern over the timing and manner of promulgation of the ordinance.
They also noted that the law virtually amounted to a repeal of the Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Act, which they added was unacceptable, particularly when such legislation had already been upheld by the apex court.
SCBA officials further said that institutions like parliament and judiciary are on a collision course that would have devastating effects on democracy and the supremacy of the Constitution, and if both sides fail to exercise restraint it could derail the entire system.
