JUST a day after the 15th National Assembly was dissolved, the Supreme Court reversed one of its key legislative interventions in the judicial domain by striking down the Supreme Court (Review of Judgements and Orders) Act of 2023.

A three-member bench of the apex court unanimously held the law “repugnant and ultra vires to the Constitution”, ruling that converting the apex court’s review jurisdiction into an appellate jurisdiction required a constitutional amendment.

It may be recalled that the law in question would have allowed affected parties to appeal any judgement or order, passed by the Supreme Court in exercise of its original jurisdiction under Article 184(3), before a larger bench.

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The facility had been extended retrospectively, with critics saying this had been done to give Nawaz Sharif and Jahangir Tareen an opportunity to have their sentences overturned.

It may be recalled that the PDM government had passed several laws affecting the superior judiciary amidst a stand-off triggered by a petition challenging unconstitutional delays in elections to the KP and Punjab assemblies.

The enactment of the Review of Judgements and Orders Act, in particular, had taken the apex court by surprise, forcing it to indefinitely adjourn proceedings on a review petition filed by the ECP against an earlier ruling on election timelines.

Referencing the circumstances in which the law was passed, the Supreme Court ruled that ordinary legislation that interferes with the independence of the judiciary is “unconstitutional, null, void and of no legal effect” from its inception.

As regards the impact of this judgement on Nawaz Sharif’s disqualification status, the outgoing law minister has said it does not matter as the amended Elections Act now limits the length of disqualification of lawmakers to five years with retrospective effect.

However, it would appear that the ECP may face new difficulties as it defends its decision to disregard constitutional timelines for elections that have become due.

Exactly a week earlier, the apex court issued a detailed judgement elaborating on its April 4 short order on the ECP’s decision to postpone polls, in which it excoriated the election watchdog for taking an unconstitutional step despite a Supreme Court order directing that elections in Punjab be held latest by May 14.

With no means of appealing that judgement now at its disposal, it will be interesting to see how the ECP responds.

Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2023