ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC), the highest regulatory body for lawyers in the country, has proposed an amendment to Article 68 of the Constitution that would permit parliamentary discussion of judgements made by the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), envisaged under the 26th Constitutional Amendment Bill.

A source in the Ministry of Law revealed that the federal government is considering the amendment, which would remove restrictions on parliamentary discussion of judicial conduct by FCC judges. This amendment would substitute the Supreme Court and high courts’ exclusion from Article 68, which currently bars such debates.

The PBC’s executive committee has reviewed the draft proposals in a series of meetings and forwarded them to the government a few days ago.

In line with the declaration adopted by the Lawyers’ Representative Convention, organised by Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar handed over the proposed draft of the constitutional package to the PBC to constitute a committee and considered different provisions of the 26th Constitutional Amendment Bill.

PPP briefs HRCP, Pildat on party’s policy on constitutional court

The convention also expressed reservations over the appointment procedure of the first FCC chief justice and pointed out that the procedure seems to give an upper hand to the executive and may become politicised.

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Among the PBC’s recommendations is a provision allowing parliamentary scrutiny of FCC rulings. The council also proposed amendments to Article 63A, clarifying that any vote cast contrary to a party’s direction should count, while the member would face disqualification for five years.

Additionally, changes to Article 175A have been suggested, expanding the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) to include two parliamentarians each from the Senate and National Assembly, representing both government and opposition.

The PBC also suggested the addition of the chief justice and the senior puisne judge of the high court concerned and that of the Federal Shariat Court (FSC), provincial minister for law and an advocate with 15 years of practice as an advocate of the high court to be nominated by the provincial bar council concerned for a term of two years.

Another significant suggestion is to delete the federal government’s proposal that FCC judges elevated from the Supreme Court serve a three-year term. Instead, the PBC proposed that FCC judges serve until they reach 68 years of age or if they resign or are removed.

The council has also suggested an amendment to Article 179, stating that the Supreme Court chief justice, on completion of their three-year term, will stand retired notwithstanding his age of superannuation.

Meanwhile, the Sindh Bar Council Vice Chairman Kashif Hanif on Tuesday expressed concern over the timing and secrecy surrounding the proposed constitutional package and its implications.

“A major structural change to our judicial system with possibly huge consequences for the separation of powers and independence of judiciary requires full transparency and serious discussion and consultation of all stakeholders,” he said in a statement.

He regretted that even after the earlier attempt to rush through a constitutional package was unsuccessful, none of the parties in the ruling coalition bothered to share a draft of their proposed amendments.

Mr Hanif said the lawyers would support any genuine, consultative process of judicial reform but would not accept any attempt to destroy judicial independence on the pretext of reforms.

PPP briefs civil society

Meanwhile, senior PPP leaders — including Senator Sherry Rehman, Syed Naveed Qamar and Syed Nayyar Hussain Bukhari — engaged in a series of consultations with key civil society groups to brief them on the party’s stance regarding the FCC.

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During a meeting with the secretary general of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), Haris Khalique, and senior members of the Women’s Action Forum (WAF), Senator Rehman emphasised the importance of inclusive consultations.

“The purpose of these meetings is to ensure that all relevant stakeholders are taken on board and that this initiative receives wide acceptance, similar to the 18th Amendment,” she said. She stressed that the PPP was committed to establishing the Federal Constitutional Court through consensus-building and in consultation with all key stakeholders.

In a meeting with the president of the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (Pildat), Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, Senator Rehman and MNA Naveed Qamar reiterated the PPP’s support for a dedicated constitutional court to handle constitutional matters effectively.

They said that this reform was part of the unfinished agenda envisioned by former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, ensuring that no government could exploit the judiciary for political gain.

“The PPP doesn’t endorse any person-specific legislation. Moreover, PPP is committed to fulfilling this long-standing demand of the Pakistan Bar Council and the legal community”, Ms Rehman said.

Iftikhar A. Khan also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2024