Representational image. PHOTO: REUTERS
The letter sent to the PBC seeks its input in view of a bill “Legal Practitioner and Bar Council Act 2019” introduced in the National Assembly by the ruling PTI’s lawmaker Amjad Ali Khan.
The bill proposes that “the license of legal practitioner shall be cancelled for life in case of physical violence against any person by him and the license shall also be cancelled, if the legal practitioner is involved in cheating, fraud, forgery, false affidavit, deliberate concealment of facts.”
In its ‘object and reasons’, the bill notes that the amendment has been proposed in view of “recent incidents of protests” turning into violence activities involving members of legal profession and “to ensure peaceful environment in the legal profession and judicial proceedings in future”.
The bill apparently refers to the December 11, 2019 incident in Lahore.
On that day, at least three cardiac patients lost their lives when scores of lawyers stormed the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) vandalizing the facility and thrashing everyone in sight apparently to “settle the score” with doctors who, they claimed, had attacked one of their colleagues.
The enraged lawyers had broken windowpanes, doors and equipment at Punjab’s largest cardiac facility and also set fire to several vehicles, including a police van. Witnesses had reported that the protesters also thrashed medics and patients in the emergency ward of the hospital.
Commenting on the letter, the PBC Vice Chairman Abid Saqi strongly opposed the proposed amendment and said a mechanism is already provided to take disciplinary action against lawyers over misconduct.
Saqi said it is a ‘PTI driven move’ to target lawyers who always stand for freedom of expression and civilian supremacy in the country. He also alleged that since his appointment as law minister, Dr Farogh Naseem, is adopting different tactics to suppress voice of independent lawyers and judges.
“We will not accept any unrealistic and arbitrary move to target lawyers. We are considering summoning a meeting of lawyers’ representatives to give collective response to this proposal.”
Raheel Kamran Sheikh, another PBC representative, said the proposed punishment should be implemented on commission of illegal acts and should range from suspension of license for a certain period to cancellation of a license.
“Further, to make disciplinary committees/tribunals of the bar councils more independent and less amenable to regulatory capture, two MNAs nominated by the speaker [National Assembly], one each from treasury and opposition, should be included in their compositions in the cases of the PBC and Islamabad Bar Council.
“Two MPAs nominated by the speaker of the respective provincial assembly, one each from the treasury and opposition, should be included in their compositions in cases of each provincial bar council.
“Such inclusion shall also mean that the consumers of justice, which are the largest stakeholders in the administration of justice, are equally represented in ensuring the rule of law and curtailing internal threats to the nobility and independence of the bar,” he added.
Renowned Karachi based Salahuddin Ahmed said changing punishments may not be a useful way of controlling misconduct of lawyers.
“The main problem in curbing professional misconduct is actually that professionals are reluctant to punish their own colleagues, whether the punishment is small or great.
“I think the only effective way is to amend the law in such a way that the concerned disciplinary bodies/tribunals have at least partial representation of people/civil society members who do not belong to the subject profession,” he said.
Ahmad recommended that the PBC members should choose one representative each from the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) or a media body and that such representative should enjoy fixed three-year tenure.
Under the law, superior courts judges are head of tribunals which hear complaints’ against judges.
However, these tribunals do not take action against lawyers, if they are involved in misconduct. After the PIC incident, lawyers’ regularity bodies are facing immense criticism over their failure to initiate disciplinary actions against the lawyers who violated the code of conduct.
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