ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi promulgated, “The Privatization Commission (Amendment) Ordinance, 2023” which transfers the powers of the High Courts to the Privatisation Appellate Tribunal.
Before the Ordinance, all High Courts of the country had concurrent jurisdiction over privatization cases.
The purpose of the Ordinance is to establish a Privatisation Appellate Tribunal.
Under the Ordinance, the federal government will establish a three-member Privatization Appellate Tribunal. The Privatisation Appellate Tribunal shall have jurisdiction to hear and adjudicate civil and criminal matters relating to privatisation. The powers given to the High Courts in the Privatisation Commission Ordinance 2000 have now been transferred to the Privatisation Appellate Tribunal.
According to the media wing of the Presidency, the Ordinance made amendments to section 28 to section 33 of Privatisation Commission Ordinance 2000. The president passed the amended Ordinance proposed by the government after sub-section 2 (4) of Section 28 was changed.
The purpose of the Ordinance is to eliminate unnecessary delays in privatisation, resolve issues, and ensure compliance with the principles of law and justice.
According to the Ordinance, the government will appoint a retired judge of the Supreme Court instead of a retired judge of the High Court as the chairperson of the Appellate Tribunal. Under the Ordinance, a retired judge of the Supreme Court will be the chairperson of the Privatisation Tribunal.
The Appellate Tribunal shall have one technical member and one judicial member.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan will have jurisdiction to hear appeals against the decisions of the Appellate Tribunal.
Any person aggrieved by the decision of the Privatisation Appellate Tribunal may file an appeal before the Supreme Court within 60 days.
Sections 30 and 33 of the Privatisation Commission Ordinance 2000 are repealed. The president promulgated the Ordinance under Article 89-1 of the Constitution of Pakistan.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023