Pakistan's apex court upholds new law on top judge's powers

KARACHI, Pakistan

Pakistan's Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a legislation that was aimed to curtail power of the apex court's chief justice, a court order said.

With a 10-5 majority, the 15-member full court led by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa announced the verdict after days-long hearing, which was aired live, in a first in the country's judicial history.

An eight-member bench of the top court headed by the then Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, in April this year, had blocked implementation of the legislation passed by the outgoing Parliament, calling it against the "independence of the top judiciary."

The most notable provision of the legislation "Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Bill 2023", is the removal of the chief justice's authority to take a suo moto notice, a legal term used in South Asian countries to refer to actions taken by courts on their own initiative without a request from the parties concerned.

According to the legislation, a three-member bench comprising the chief justice and the two senior-most judges will decide the formation of the benches and whether or not to take a suo moto notice. It was previously the sole prerogative of the chief justice.

It also stated that every cause, matter, or appeal before the apex court would be heard and disposed of by a bench constituted by a committee made up of the chief justice and the two senior-most judges. It added that the committee’s decisions would be taken by a majority.

The legislation also included the right to file an appeal within 30 days of the judgment in a suo moto case.

It also stated that any case involving constitutional interpretation will not have a bench of fewer than five judges.

The bench, however, with a thin majority declared that the new legislation will not apply on the past decisions.

This means the legislation will not allow the three-time former 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.