Panel meeting: District courts to decide cases valued at less than Rs10m

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice decided on Monday that if a dispute arises between two parties in a case valued at less than Rs10 million, it would be decided by a district judge rather than the high court judge.

The committee passed the Islamabad High Court (Amendment) Bill, 2016, besides the Code of Civil Procedure (Amendment) Bill, 2016, wherein litigants can file their cases before civil courts of district judiciary.

For another bill – The Central Law Officers (Amendment) Bill, 2016, – the committee decided that the appointment of the standing counsel would be made on seven years of practice as opposed to five years of practice.

Meanwhile, the committee also decided to take input from bar councils and associations in connection to the grants given to them by the federal government.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Senator Javed Abbasi, who chairs the committee, said the move is aimed at reducing pressure as well as clearing the backlog from Islamabad High Court.

Law Minister Zahid Hamid pointed out that SC has increased seven years’ practice for appointment of standing counsel. He further went on to state that the government has been giving grants in aid to bar councils through distribution among the Pakistan Bar Council and the provincial bar councils.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 1^st , 2016.