By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Senate on Thursday approved a set of legislation that limits some key powers of the Supreme Court’s chief justice regarding suo motu cases and the constitution of benches.
Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar introduced ‘The Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill, 2023’ on Thursday in the Senate, a day after it was passed by the National Assembly.
The Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Bill 2023 was passed with 60 votes in favor, while the bill was opposed by 19 senators from the main opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party and the far-right Jamaat-e-Islami, who called it “unconstitutional.”
The remaining 21 senators were not present to endorse the bill.
Television channels showed the PTI senators carrying placards engraved with anti-bill remarks and raising slogans against the legislation.
The bill now needs to be signed by President Arif Alvi, who belongs to the PTI, to become law.
The draft bill seeks to amend laws regarding the conduct of the top court and suggests setting up a three-member panel headed by the chief justice to take up suo motu cases.
“The passage of the Supreme Court (Practice & Procedure) Bill 2023 by Parliament today will institutionally strengthen the apex court,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Twitter. “It will help make the process of bench formation & exercise of Article 184 (3) transparent & inclusive, thus serving the cause of justice.”
The bill also allows three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, former Premier Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, and several other parliamentarians who have been disqualified by the Supreme Court under suo moto action to appeal their disqualification within 30 days of the law’s enactment.
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