ISLAMABAD: After five public hearings, which were broadcast live on national television and streamed for all to see for the first time in the court’s history, a full bench of the apex court upheld the divisive SC (Practice & Procedure) Act, 2023 as law.
Soon after the judgement was annnounced, the order was dissected by legal experts, while former additional attorney general Waqar Rana feared it could undermine the judiciary’s independence on the whole, something he thought “will be noticed very soon”.
The short order, he said, reflects a jurisprudential confusion on part of majority upholding the right of appeal act because two of those judges, namely Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Syed Azhar Rizvi, also became part of the group that declared the retrospective right of appeal void.
If there is competence in the legislature to provide a right of appeal in a constitutional jurisdiction, then it can do so retrospectively, he said .
Politicians, lawyers react to apex court verdict on Practice & Procedure law
PML-N leader Shehbaz Sharif — whose government passed the law in the first place — called the decision a “welcome step”. “It not only democratises the workings of the Supreme Court itself but also shows due respect to the Parliament, which represents the people of Pakistan.
PPP leader Sherry Rehman said the verdict had enhanced “transparency and faded image of the superior court”.
“It is also an important step forward for parliament’s supremacy in its first obligation of making laws,” she said on X.
Meanwhile, the PTI said the judgement had resulted in disappointment for a political party, apparently referring to the PML-N.
“After the majority verdict of the SC, the possibilities of conspiracies against Sadiq and Amin Imran Khan have died,” it stated, adding that now “fake and false” cases against the PTI chairman could not impact the “certificate of his honesty”.
“The fact that the process was publicly available for viewing is to be appreciated; in that we have finally let some sunlight in upon what must be known to the public,” lawyer Abdul Moiz Jaferii said.
Another legal expert, Usama Khawar, termed the decision “truly unprecedented and remarkable in many significant steps”. He highlighted how the CJP risked “exposing his left flank by forming a full court so early in his career”, noting that “public defeat” i.e., becoming a minority in front of the camera would have severely undermined his authority.
“Similarly, open questioning of the CJP’s authority to conduct the proceedings and the acrimony and bickering amongst judges in the full glare of camera would have also severely undermined his authority,” he said.
Meanwhile, Barrister Rida Hosain said the core question was whether the parliament could regulate SC’s internal workings. “Can parliament tell the Supreme Court which judges are to constitute benches? The majority has said yes, and in effect, given a green light to obvious intrusion into the judicial space,” she told Dawn.com.
Legal expert Basil Nabi Malik said the verdict appeared to balance the various intricacies and complexities involved in the case.
Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2023
