ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly’s standing committee on law, justice and human rights will take up on Monday a number of bills, including a constitution amendment bill seeking to provide right of appeal in the Supreme Court to the aggrieved party in a suo motu case.

The bill was moved by PPP’s Ayaz Soomro in March.

The committee will also discuss two bills envisaging measures for protection of children’s rights and setting up of a national commission on the rights of the child.

Through his private member bill, Mr Soomro has sought an amendment to Article 184 of the constitution which describes the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court under which the court has powers to take suo motu notice on constitutional matters or on any issue dealing with fundamental rights of people.

Mr Soomro is a member of the NA committee on law headed by Chaudhry Bashir Mahmood Virk of PML-N.

The bill’s statement of objectives and reasons says: “As present remedy available to the aggrieved party against the decision of the Supreme Court in a suo motu case or where it directly takes up a constitutional petition... is that of review before the same judges, which is not an adequate remedy.”

“The aggrieved party must have adequate remedy by way of appealing to a larger bench of the court.”

The mover has suggested following addition to Clause 3 of article 184: “Provided that an aggrieved person may, within 30 days of the judgment or date of commencement of this amendment, prefer an appeal to a larger bench of the Supreme Court where a matter has been adjudged suo motu or where a constitution petition has directly been taken up by the Supreme Court.”

The PPP had expressed reservations over what it saw as excessive use of suo motu powers by the then chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry during its government between 2008 and 2013.

The party members have repeatedly raised the issue in the Senate in the recent past also.

PPP spokesman Senator Farhatullah Babar and the party’s parliamentary leader in the Senate, Saeed Ghani, have been vocal on the issue and called for a restraint on the powers of the judges to take suo motu action.

In May, the Senate converted itself into a committee for the first time in the country’s parliamentary history to discuss proposals floated by the members to improve the judicial system.

The decision to constitute the committee of the whole house had been taken after senators, during a debate on a motion moved by Tahir Mashhadi of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, expressed dissatisfaction over the judicial system and called for steps to provide inexpensive and speedy justice to people.

The committee decided to seek proposals from representatives of bar associations of high courts and the Supreme Court and human rights organisations.

Published in Dawn, July 12th, 2015

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