Erase, rewind, restart: Frequent amendments in acts reflect incompetency in law making
Government criticised for not discussing each clause before legislating
K-P Assembly. PHOTO: AFP
PESHAWAR:
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led coalition government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has drastically changed all important acts it had legislated in its two years and nine months at the helm.
The important laws which the government made and then amended frequently include K-P Universities (Amendment) Act 2015, K-P Ehtesab Commission Act 2014, K-P Right to Information Act 2013 and K-P Local Government Act 2013.
K-P Universities Act 2012
Some acts have been amended to such an extent that the actual act has lost its existence. The K-P Universities Act 2012 is one such example where the current government made 22 amendments in various sections along with changing schedules in the law in May 2015.
The amendments pertained to the removal of vice chancellor (VC), amplifying the VC’s selection criteria, reducing his/her tenure to three years, empowering the chancellor to remove VC without the advice of university senate, and empowering the senate to remove the VC by simple majority rather than a two-thirds majority. The VC was also required to have at least 40 research publications in international research journals, minimum 20 years of experience in higher education and minimum 10 years administrative experience.
The strict criteria made it almost impossible for the government to find candidates for the universities and currently nine universities of the province are being run by acting VCs. The government realised this problem and changed the law completely through an ordinance that amended 40 out of 50 sections in the law. Officials privy to the matter, requesting anonymity, said the law department had even advised the government to make a new act because of the amount of changes made.
“The actual act made in 2012 has lost its existence then why not create a new law in its place?” he said.
Adviser to CM on Information and Higher Education Mushtaq Ghani told The Express Tribune it is the job of the assembly to make legislation and as times change, amendments only improve laws. He also said, “University law was altered to bring the most competent people to the post of a VC and in the absence of anyone, criteria had to be changed again.”
K-P EC Act 2014
The government amended the Ehtesab Commission Act 2014 twice, making changes to 17 sections of the law pertaining to its implementation which covered the period till 2004 – in a bid to avoid meddling into cases that related to the army’s dictatorial regime prior to that year.
Moreover, the amendment took powers from courts to grant bails to accused tried under this law and redefined trial procedure of cases.
In February 2016, the government made drastic changes to the law again through an ordinance that changed around 32 sections, reducing powers granted to the Ehtesab Commission director general (DG). Under the amendment, a government scrutiny committee will ensure all current employees are competent. The DG was not happy with the changes and thus resigned from the commission, leaving the entity without a head.
Ghani said, “Amendments ensured powers did not rest with one person but were shared by the Commission.”
K-P Right to Information Act 2013
The Right to Information Act (RTI) 2013 has also been amended twice while alterations for the third time are being prepared by the government.
The K-P Assembly was ousted from within the ambit of the act, however, after pressure from the central leadership, the law was amended again to include the assembly. The government has now agreed to draft a proposal for the third amendment to the law which aims at including Peshawar High Court within its ambit and also increase powers of the public information officer.
K-P LG Act 2013
The local government act has been amended four times to ensure election of nazims and naib nazims by the councils was through majority of voters present in the house during the election.
Then through another amendment, the disqualification of a council member on the grounds of defection was introduced into the law.
Censuring consistent changes
The frequent changes to the laws in the assembly has begotten much debate among the opposition and treasury benches where the former complains that laws are not properly discussed in the house and clauses are not read to filter out shortcomings.
Opposition leader Maulana Lutfur Rehman of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl objected to the amendments and asked the speaker to discuss laws in the house before passing them.
An official of the department requesting anonymity said, “Everything done in haste is waste. The government first makes laws and then improves them through amendments.”
Another senior official said, “If you import laws, this uncertainty will certainly happen.” He also pointed to Medical Teaching Institutes Institutions Reforms Act 2015 which the government is still struggling to implement.
“The speaker reads the name of the bill and then asks people to vote to which government benches shout out yes,” he said, criticising the procedure. “The amendments would not be needed if the bills are discussed clause by clause in the house,” the official added.
The law department secretary Muhammad Arifeen and legal drafter Shagufta Naveed could not be reached for comments despite repeated attempts.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 26th, 2016.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led coalition government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has drastically changed all important acts it had legislated in its two years and nine months at the helm.
The important laws which the government made and then amended frequently include K-P Universities (Amendment) Act 2015, K-P Ehtesab Commission Act 2014, K-P Right to Information Act 2013 and K-P Local Government Act 2013.
K-P Universities Act 2012
Some acts have been amended to such an extent that the actual act has lost its existence. The K-P Universities Act 2012 is one such example where the current government made 22 amendments in various sections along with changing schedules in the law in May 2015.
The amendments pertained to the removal of vice chancellor (VC), amplifying the VC’s selection criteria, reducing his/her tenure to three years, empowering the chancellor to remove VC without the advice of university senate, and empowering the senate to remove the VC by simple majority rather than a two-thirds majority. The VC was also required to have at least 40 research publications in international research journals, minimum 20 years of experience in higher education and minimum 10 years administrative experience.
The strict criteria made it almost impossible for the government to find candidates for the universities and currently nine universities of the province are being run by acting VCs. The government realised this problem and changed the law completely through an ordinance that amended 40 out of 50 sections in the law. Officials privy to the matter, requesting anonymity, said the law department had even advised the government to make a new act because of the amount of changes made.
“The actual act made in 2012 has lost its existence then why not create a new law in its place?” he said.
Adviser to CM on Information and Higher Education Mushtaq Ghani told The Express Tribune it is the job of the assembly to make legislation and as times change, amendments only improve laws. He also said, “University law was altered to bring the most competent people to the post of a VC and in the absence of anyone, criteria had to be changed again.”
K-P EC Act 2014
The government amended the Ehtesab Commission Act 2014 twice, making changes to 17 sections of the law pertaining to its implementation which covered the period till 2004 – in a bid to avoid meddling into cases that related to the army’s dictatorial regime prior to that year.
Moreover, the amendment took powers from courts to grant bails to accused tried under this law and redefined trial procedure of cases.
In February 2016, the government made drastic changes to the law again through an ordinance that changed around 32 sections, reducing powers granted to the Ehtesab Commission director general (DG). Under the amendment, a government scrutiny committee will ensure all current employees are competent. The DG was not happy with the changes and thus resigned from the commission, leaving the entity without a head.
Ghani said, “Amendments ensured powers did not rest with one person but were shared by the Commission.”
K-P Right to Information Act 2013
The Right to Information Act (RTI) 2013 has also been amended twice while alterations for the third time are being prepared by the government.
The K-P Assembly was ousted from within the ambit of the act, however, after pressure from the central leadership, the law was amended again to include the assembly. The government has now agreed to draft a proposal for the third amendment to the law which aims at including Peshawar High Court within its ambit and also increase powers of the public information officer.
K-P LG Act 2013
The local government act has been amended four times to ensure election of nazims and naib nazims by the councils was through majority of voters present in the house during the election.
Then through another amendment, the disqualification of a council member on the grounds of defection was introduced into the law.
Censuring consistent changes
The frequent changes to the laws in the assembly has begotten much debate among the opposition and treasury benches where the former complains that laws are not properly discussed in the house and clauses are not read to filter out shortcomings.
Opposition leader Maulana Lutfur Rehman of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl objected to the amendments and asked the speaker to discuss laws in the house before passing them.
An official of the department requesting anonymity said, “Everything done in haste is waste. The government first makes laws and then improves them through amendments.”
Another senior official said, “If you import laws, this uncertainty will certainly happen.” He also pointed to Medical Teaching Institutes Institutions Reforms Act 2015 which the government is still struggling to implement.
“The speaker reads the name of the bill and then asks people to vote to which government benches shout out yes,” he said, criticising the procedure. “The amendments would not be needed if the bills are discussed clause by clause in the house,” the official added.
The law department secretary Muhammad Arifeen and legal drafter Shagufta Naveed could not be reached for comments despite repeated attempts.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 26th, 2016.