The Supreme Court fixed the hearing of a review petition against the SC (Practice and Procedure) Bill, 2023 – which aims to deprive the office of the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) of powers to take suo motu notice in an individual capacity – on September 18 (Monday).
The Registrar's Office has notified all relevant parties and it is being expected that a full court session will be convened to take up the matter at hand.
Chief Justice-designate Qazi Faez Isa will preside over the bench after taking the oath of office.
The outgoing government PDM had enacted the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act, 2023 with a aim of clipping the chief justice’s powers to form benches and fix any case before him. The bill was passed by the parliament earlier. However, an eight-judge bench, including the CJP, stayed the bill’s implementation after a set of three petitions challenging it.
Read SC law case adjourned indefinitely
The SC (Practice and Procedure) Bill, 2023, serves multiple purposes, including the delegation of suo motu notice-taking authority to a three-member committee composed of senior judges, including the chief justice. The bill aims to ensure transparent proceedings within the apex court and safeguard the right to appeal.
The bill outlines the constitution of benches, specifying that a committee consisting of the chief justice and the two most senior judges will be responsible for constituting benches to handle cases, and decisions will be reached by majority vote.
Regarding cases invoking the apex court's original jurisdiction under Article 184(3), the bill stipulates that they must first be presented to the aforementioned committee for consideration.
Moreover, the bill grants the committee the authority to form a bench comprising at least three judges from the Supreme Court, which may include members of the committee itself, to adjudicate on matters of significant public importance relating to the enforcement of fundamental rights.
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