ISLAMABAD, June 24: The government will shortly introduce a revised bill to establish a federal court for settlement of financial disputes in the country. A draft proposal was earlier withdrawn owing to strong controversy over its nature and powers.

Law Minister Wasi Zafar told Dawn on Friday that the draft proposals had been scraped and now a new bill was under study of the government that would also remove all apprehensions being expressed by different stakeholders.

“A revised draft is being pencilled in that would incorporate suggestions and inputs from the legal community,” Wasi Zafar observed.

Soon after introduction of the draft proposals, the government faced intense opposition from the legal community which declared the concept as an attempt to put in place a parallel judicial system in the country.

Legal bodies like the Pakistan Bar Council, the Supreme Court Bar Association and other associations gave intense resistance and demanded of the government to strengthen the existing judicial system by increasing the number of judges and improving infrastructure instead of creating a new one.

Idea of the federal court was coined when Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz in his first broadcast to the nation since taking his office in August 2004 had announced to set up a federal commercial court in Islamabad to deal with financial disputes involving business, federal taxes and investment.

To be called the Federal Court Act 2004, the court was to be led by a chief judge while its strength would have to be determined by the president in consultation with the prime minister.

The federal court would have original and appellate jurisdiction on laws involving Imports and Exports (Control) Act, the Copies Rights Ordinance, the Customs Act, the Drug Act, the Emigration Ordinance, Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority Ordinance, Industrial Relations Ordinance under which the high court hears appeals against the decisions of courts and tribunals and banking courts, drug courts, income tax tribunals and customs tribunals.

About the law reforms package, pending scrutiny before the Standing Committee of the National Assembly on Law, Wasi Zafar said the package would be presented before the parliament for enactment in the next session of the lower house.

Under the reforms package, different amendments have been proposed in the Pakistan Penal Code 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898, the Offence of Zina (Enforcement of Hudood) Ordinance 1979, the Specific Relief Act 1877, the Powers of Attorney Act 1882, the Code of Civil Procedure 1908 and the Registration Act 1908.

Wide powers of police to arrest are being curtailed, through the law, to save the public from the abuse of power by the police. Similarly, the police officer failing to record FIR in cognizable offence is being made liable to prosecution under Article 155 of the Police Order 2002, while courts are also being empowered to direct police investigation in non-cognizable cases on receipt of an information which would put the police in motion immediately resulting in redressal of grievances of the common man.

Amendments also suggest punishment to dishonest investigation by police while illegal confinement by police officials is being made an offence punishable with imprisonment up to seven years whereas the offender would be liable to fine.