The Supreme Court was taken aback by new legislation governing judicial reviews.
The review petition against the ECP has been put on indefinite hold by a three-judge bench.
ISLAMABAD: On Monday, the state’s top law officer revealed that a new law expanding the scope of review petitions had been enacted, prompting the apex court bench hearing the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) review petition against its April order with regard to elections in Punjab to postpone the hearing indefinitely.
“The Supreme Court (Review of Judgements and Orders) Bill, 2023, has been signed into law by the President. Attorney General of Pakistan Mansoor Awan told a three-judge panel presided over by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial that under the new law, a larger court will hear review petitions.
On April 4, a three-judge bench of Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar revoked a previous notification from the ECP and directed the polling supervising authority to hold elections for the Punjab Assembly on May 14. The ECP had petitioned for a reconsideration of the ruling later on.
As the AGP reported to the bench that President Dr. Arif Alvi had signed the law, the judges looked shocked. CJP Bandial said, “This is quite an interesting [development],” and then he halted the hearing.
On April 14, MNA Shaza Fatima’s private member’s bill, the Supreme Court (Review of Judgements and Orders) Bill, 2023, was approved by the National Assembly. On May 5, the upper chamber of parliament, the Senate, likewise gave its approval to the law.
On Friday, President Alvi signed the bill into law after it was submitted for his approval. The AGP submitted their petition to the Supreme Court on Monday, the same day the Senate Secretariat published its gazette announcement.
The act’s stated purpose is to protect citizens’ access to justice by allowing for an effective appeal of Supreme Court rulings and orders made while acting within Article 184’s original jurisdiction.
Supreme Court judgments and orders issued while exercising original jurisdiction under Article 184 of the Constitution are subject to the same factual and legal examination as appeals filed under Article 185.
According to Article 184(3) of the Pakistani Constitution, the Supreme Court has the unprecedented authority to take on jurisdiction over any “question of public importance with reference to the enforcement of any…fundamental right.”
A review petition used to be heard by the same bench that handed down the initial ruling.
A larger panel than the one that issued the first ruling is required to hear any petitions for review under the new law. The review petitioner may choose any Supreme Court advocate to represent him in the review process.
It states that a person against whom an order has been made under clause (3) of Article 184 of the Constitution has the right to file a review petition prior to the recommendation of this Act.
The deadline for submitting the petition is sixty days from the date this bill becomes law. The statute will take effect regardless of the Supreme Court’s or any other court’s prior rulings or any other laws, rules, or regulations now in operation.
Disqualified for life by Article 62 (1) (f) of the Constitution politicians will now be entitled to file a review petition under the new rule. This includes former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and former Secretary general of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Jahangir Khan Tareen.
He told Express News that this rule does not target any one group or individual.
Nawaz Sharif, the leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, may be affected by the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) measure, however, the measure has been put on hold by the highest court in the land.
