The Senate of Pakistan passed the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023, which seeks to curtail the powers of the country’s Chief Justice, amidst strong opposition from lawmakers on Thursday, with 60 senators voting in favor of the bill, while 19 voted against it. The bill had been approved by the National Assembly a day earlier.
Before the bill was put to a vote in the Senate, a motion was presented to send it to the Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice for further debate. However, the motion was rejected, and urgent approval of the bill was sought instead.
Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar, who tabled the bill in the Senate, explained that it provides for the right to appeal in suo motu cases and to appoint a different lawyer for the appeals.
Opposition criticizes bill
However, the Leader of the Opposition, Dr. Shahzad Waseem, criticized the bill, alleging that the government was unable to ensure a smooth distribution of wheat and was instead planning to create rules for the Supreme Court.
Making rules for the Supreme Court is an indirect attack (on the judiciary. You are trying to create division in the Supreme Court,” claimed Dr. Waseem.
He added that the bill did not talk about the right of appeal before and that it was only added during the standing committee debate. He called for the bill to be sent to the committee for further changes.
The PTI senator further accused the government of trying to create division within the Supreme Court.
PTI’s protest
As the opposition leader made his speech, PTI senators staged a protest in the upper house. Senator Ali Zafar of the PTI also objected to the bill, stating that only constitutional amendments can be made in Article 184/3. He warned that passing the bill in its current form would lead to it being struck down within 15 days.
“There is also a divide among the lawyers on this bill. Such amendments cannot be made without amending the Constitution,” said PTI Senator Ali Zafar while noting that some changes suggested by the bill are illegal.
The timing of the bill was also questioned by Zafar, as an election suo motu was ongoing in the Supreme Court. Despite the objections from the opposition, the bill was passed in the Senate with a majority vote.
Parliament approved bill
Earlier, The National Assembly on Wednesday passed the bill to deprive the office of the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) of powers to take suo motu notice in an individual capacity. The bill, presented by Federal Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar, was passed hours after the Standing Committee on Law and Justice approved the cabinet’s proposed amendments.
Speaking on the floor of the house, Tarar said it was the assembly’s right to legislate on issues of public importance, adding that all six bar councils across Pakistan have lauded the bill.
“There is no need for a constitutional amendment [to regulate powers of the office of chief justice],” he pointed out, adding that the Supreme Court has been making its rules as per the constitution and law since 1980.
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, while addressing the law minister, termed the initiative “too little and too late”, and said that it should be called a “judges empowerment” bill.