The live session hearing of petitions contesting the SC (Practise and Procedure) Act will resume before a full court bench presided over by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa and made up of 14 judges of the Supreme Court.
SC resume hearing on Procedure Act today: CJP Isa heads the full court bench, which comprises Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Aminuddin Khan, Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, and Justice Ayesha A. Malik, Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Shahid Waheed and Justice Musarrat Hilali.
After a live session on September 18, the supreme court decided to postpone the hearing until October 3.
Additionally, the court ordered the attorneys for the parties to submit their written submissions by September 25.
The chief justice stressed throughout the meeting that the Practise and Procedure Act 2023, passed by Parliament, does not delegate the chief judge’s authority to a three-person committee.
Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan submitted the government’s response to the case prior to the previous hearing.
The response requested the dismissal of the petitions related to the Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Act.
The full court bench quickly lifted the stay order regarding the Act’s execution.
According to the SC (Practise and Procedure) Act, 2023, the chief justice of Pakistan would now form benches following consultation with two senior justices.
The bill
The previous Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led government passed the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act, 2023, aiming to restrict the chief justice’s authority in setting benches and determining which cases the court will hear.
The parliament approved the bill earlier this year.
A set of three petitions against the bill led an eight-judge bench, which included the former CJP Umar Ata Bandial, to stay its execution.
The Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill, 2023, grants a three-member committee comprising senior judges, including the chief justice, the authority to take suo motu notice.
The measure intends to protect the right to appeal and maintain open processes at the supreme court.
The bill outlines the formation of benches, with a committee comprising the chief justice and the two most senior judges responsible for selecting the benches to hear cases. Decisions will be reached by a majority vote.
The measure requires that the aforementioned committee first reviews issues falling under the apex court’s original jurisdiction under Article 184(3).
Additionally, the measure gives the committee the power to convene a bench of at least three Supreme Court justices, which may include committee members, to decide on cases with broad public implications including the protection of basic rights.