President Zardari signs Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Amendment Ordinance 2024

ISLAMABAD: After the federal cabinet’s approval, President Asif Ali Zardari signed the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Amendment Ordinance 2024 into law on Friday.

Earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired a cabinet meeting that endorsed the ordinance, which had been widely discussed. The ordinance was adopted “through circulation” after the Ministry of Law sent it to the prime minister and cabinet on Thursday night.

The ordinance specifies that court benches will consider cases based on fundamental human rights and matters of public importance.

Each case will be heard in the order it was filed unless there is a valid reason to hear it out of turn. Additionally, all cases and appeals will be recorded, and transcripts will be made publicly available.

Sources said that the ordinance grants the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) additional powers to assign cases. The CJP can also appoint a judge to a committee if a member is absent. According to the Practice and Procedure Act, a three-member committee, including the CJP, the senior-most judge, and a judge nominated by the CJP, will be responsible for constituting benches.

The Ministry of Law prepared the amendment ordinance, which was then forwarded to the cabinet for approval.

Sub-clause 1 of Section 2 of the Act has been added to the law, allowing the committee to set cases for hearings.

Section 3 of the Act has also been amended by the ordinance.

It is pertinent to mention here, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) passed the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023 during the final days of its government to regulate the chief justice’s powers.

However, on April 13, 2023, before the law could take effect, an eight-member bench led by then-CJP Umar Ata Bandial issued a stay order against it.

The law aimed to transfer the power of suo motu notices to a three-member committee of senior judges, including the CJP, and sought to make apex court proceedings more transparent, introducing a right to appeal.

It also mandated that every case before the Supreme Court be heard by a bench constituted by the CJP and the two senior-most judges. Decisions by this committee were to be made by majority vote.

For cases requiring the Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction under Article 184(3), the Act stipulated that these matters first go to the committee. For constitutional interpretation, it required that no fewer than five judges hear the case. Additionally, appeals against verdicts issued under Article 184(3) had to be filed within 30 days and heard by a larger bench within 14 days.

The Act also allowed parties to choose their own counsel for review applications under Article 188 of the Constitution. Any application requesting urgency or interim relief was to be scheduled for a hearing within 14 days of filing.

The law included provisions allowing retrospective appeals for individuals affected by orders issued under Article 184(3) before the Act’s enactment, but this provision was struck down by the court.