ISLAMABAD: Senate Chairman Mian Raza Rabbani said on Friday that under the Constitution a meeting of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) should be convened at least once in three months and warned the government that continued violation of the provision could have serious consequences.

“The consequences can have a chaotic effect, bringing the entire state machinery pertaining to or dealing with items of the federal legislative list, part-II, to a grinding halt,” he said while reading out a ruling which had been reserved earlier.

Mr Rabbani observed that all matters relating to the formation and regulation of policies and supervision and control over institutions covered in the federal legislative list (part-II) would be of no legal effect if they were not approved by the CCI.

He also noted that CCI rules did not allow the prime minister to take a decision and refer it to the council for approval, nor could the federal cabinet constituted under Article 91 of the Constitution arrogate to itself the powers conferred on the CCI through articles 154 and 155.

Violation of constitution can bring entire state machinery to a halt, warns Rabbani

“I am conscious of the constitutional chaos and mayhem that can be created; therefore, I, reluctantly, restrain to hold all such decisions, actions and orders to be unconstitutional. How­ever any decision taken in violation of the constitutional scheme from 15 days after the date of announcement of this ruling will be in violation of the Consti­tution,” he said.

Put differently, the Senate chairman gave two weeks to the government to follow the constitutional provisions relating to the CCI in letter and spirit.

He directed the Senate Secretariat to send a copy of the judgment to the president, the prime minister, speaker of the National Assembly, federal ministers for inter-provincial coordination and law and justice and the chief ministers.

Senator Sassui Palijo had moved a motion in the Senate on Dec 21, seeking a debate in the house about the domain and jurisdiction of CCI and the situation arising out of non-convening of its meetings, a requirement under Article 154 (3) of the Constitution.

As the important constitutional question had been raised in the house in prior sessions as well, some members asked the chairman to give his ruling on the matter. Mr Rabbani had given a tentative observation at the time, but had reserved his ruling on the matter.

In his judgment, the Senate chairman said the pivotal role of the CCI and other such institutions in a participatory federal constitutional framework could not be underplayed. Recalling their history, he pointed out that all successive constitutions had

put in place mechanisms for settlement of disputes between the centre and provinces as well as among the provinces.

Published in Dawn, February 13th, 2016