Full court to hear petitions against Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023 tomorrow

A full court led by the newly-appointed Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa will hear the petitions against the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023 tomorrow (Monday).

The Supreme Court of Pakistan has issued the final cause list on its website, showing the cases fixed for tomorrow.

After being appointed as the 29th CJP of the country, Justice Isa formed the full court to hear the petitions challenging the SC practice law.

Justice Isa says won’t sit on bench until SC bill case verdict

The previous Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) led government had enacted the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act, 2023, in a bid to clip the chief justice’s powers to form benches and fix any case before him.

The bill was passed by the parliament earlier.

However, an eight-judge bench, including the former CJP Umar Ata Bandial, stayed the bill’s implementation after a set of three petitions challenging it.

The Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill, 2023, serves multiple purposes, including the delegation of suo motu notice-taking authority to a three-member committee composed of senior judges, including the chief justice.

The bill aims to ensure transparent proceedings within the apex court and safeguard the right to appeal.

The bill outlines the constitution of benches, specifying that a committee consisting of the chief justice and the two most senior judges will be responsible for constituting benches to handle cases, and decisions will be reached by majority vote.

Regarding cases invoking the apex court’s original jurisdiction under Article 184(3), the bill stipulates that they must first be presented to the aforementioned committee for consideration.

Moreover, the bill grants the committee the authority to form a bench comprising at least three judges from the Supreme Court, which may include members of the committee itself, to adjudicate on matters of significant public importance relating to the enforcement of fundamental rights.