LAHORE: The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) on Saturday advised the Supreme Court to sparingly exercise its suo motu powers under Article 184(3) of the Constitution, confining these only to the cases pertaining to enforcement of fundamental rights to maintain the principle of trichotomy of power.

Carrying different resolutions, a meeting of the top body of legal fraternity reiterated that all state institutions and organs should remain within their constitutional domain in discharging their functions.

It also urged that the Supreme Court should suitably amend the Supreme Court Rules 1980 to regulate structural parameters of exercise of such powers and a special bench of the court should be constituted for hearing of suo motu cases.

PBC vice chairman Kamran Murtaza chaired the meeting held in Karachi Shuhada Hall of the Lahore High Court Bar Association.

Adopting another resolution, the council reaffirmed its support for continuation of democratic process in the country and urged that all necessary steps be taken to ensure conduct and holding of fair, impartial and transparent general elections, without any taint or influence from non-democratic forces, and as per timeline given in the Constitution.

It said the judiciary which held every other organ and institution of the state accountable, must also ensure its own accountability with regard to financial, administrative and judicial matters in an effective, transparent and fair manner, as the prevailing system of self-accountability lacked transparency.

The PBC said the Supreme Judicial Council should make public the information regarding the number of complaints/references pending and decided against judges of the superior judiciary, including those which had become infructuous because of retirement of the judges concerned, with effect from 2010.

The council reiterated its earlier resolutions demanding an open, fair and transparent procedure for the appointment of judges to the superior courts on the basis of an objective criteria to be introduced through suitable amendments in the rules of Judicial Commission of Pakistan.

It said the appointment process should also include meaningful consultation/input with the bar and the Parliamentary Committee.

The council observed that parliamentary parties had failed to legislate and amend the Constitution for completely eliminating the amendments introduced by the military dictators as per aspirations of the people.

Published in Dawn, April 22nd, 2018