ISLAMABAD, March 14: The Supreme Court on Thursday suggested that all the contracts/treaties which the government intends to sign with the foreign countries and companies must be made public before their formal signing.
Justice Munir A. Sheikh, Acting Chief Justice of Pakistan, during the course of hearing of a petition filed by Swiss company SGS, observed that when the government intends to sign treaties/contracts, those should be placed before the nation, so that the people were aware of the merits and demerits of the agreement.
Justice Munir further observed that apex court of the country, after hearing the cases of Shehla Zia and Hubco, had reached the conclusion that no government should have unfettered powers to agree to any terms which it deemed fit by keeping those secret.
Justice Munir said that there was a need for such a law which binds the government not to make changes to the contract signed by the previous government.
The SGS has approached the Supreme Court against the civil court order of appointment of an arbitrator to settle the dispute arisen after the termination of the contract.
The civil judge has appointed Justice (retd) Khalilur Rehman Khan as arbitrator.
The federal government had filed a suit for the recovery of huge amount, which according to its estimates, were lost after the award of contract to the Swiss company.
The Swiss company is of the view that all the proceeding should be stayed in Pakistan as its request before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), a forum set up under UN Convention, had been registered.
The SGS was represented by K.M.A. Samdani and Barrister Farrukh Karim Qureshi.
The Swiss company is of the view that Pakistan and Switzerland signed an agreement on May 6, 1996, for the promotion of reciprocal protection of investment.
The company says that Pakistan violated a number of obligations pursuant to the Swiss-Pakistan agreement.
Soon after the SC set aside the judgment convicting Benazir and Asif Zardari on the charges of getting commission from SGS, the company had filed a counter-claim against the government of Pakistan, demanding $329 million as damages on account of premature termination of pre-shipment inspection (PSI) contract.
Attorney General Makhdoom Ali Khan stated that if the court granted leave to appeal, it should suspend the proceedings before ICSID and civil court.
The counsel for the appellant objected and stated that he could not give consent for the suspension of proceedings before ICSID.
The court adjourned the case till Friday, to allow the SGS counsel to consult his client. The court made it clear that if the consent of the SGS for the suspension of proceeding before ICSID was not given, the petition would be dismissed.
