ISLAMABAD, March 20: Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPP) has moved a bill in the Senate proposing constitutional amendments to clip the discretionary powers of the president and the Chief Justice of Pakistan through a number of measures, including formation of a reconstituted judicial commission. Speaking at a press conference here on Sunday, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, Raza Rabbani said the bill was aimed to ensure a judicial system free from the control of the executive. Flanked by four other PPP senators, Mr Rabbani gave the broad outlines of the proposed bill which seeks to amend articles 177, 178, 181, 182, 183, 185, 193, 194, 196, 197 and 203 (C) of the Constitution. It further recommends deletion of Article 200 and substitution of Supreme Judicial Council with a politically-reconstituted Judicial Commission in Article 209 of the Constitution.

In reply to a question if the judges would not become prone to influence of the bar councils and other members whose number in the proposed judicial commission was more than the judicial office holders, Senator Rabbani dispelled the impression that the pre-dominance of other than the judicial members could in any way make the judges prone to influence.

He said once the nitty gritty of the bill was analysed, it would become clear that the members of the bar would be called only when required and the judges would have a majority in the commission.

However, details of the bill showed that judges in the proposed commission were outnumbered by the politicians and the members of the bar. The bill seeks to appoint six politicians and five bar members, a total of 11, against only seven judges of the superior courts in the proposed commission.

The bill further provides that majority decision of the judicial commission shall prevail and only in the event of a tie, the chief justice would have the right to cast a second vote. In the event of an inquiry against a judge on account of misconduct, the inquiry committee would be constituted by the CJP having two judges and three other members, including two representatives of the bar and one politician.

The proposed bill, while defining the quorum for meetings of the commission, does not cater to an eventuality in which the judges are not present in the commission and the majority of other members, who outnumber the judges, constitute the quorum and pass an order which could create a judicial crisis.

The bill only provides that quorum for the meetings of the commission and the inquiry committee shall not be less than one half of the membership of the commission or the committee.

Moreover, it says that no proceedings of the commission or any report submitted by it shall be void because of any vacancy or vacancies in the membership of the commission. In what was described as an attempt to scuttle judiciary’s collusion with the ‘coup makers’, Senator Rabbani said the bill provides for amendments in articles 178 and 194 of the Constitution by adding an explanation: “Taking of another oath subsequently will automatically terminate the incumbent from the office of the chief justice or any other judge from such office as the case may be.”

The bill, in the proposed amendment in Article 185 seeks limitation in the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court by deleting the words “transportation for life.”

In the proposed amendment in Article 193, the role of the president and the chief justice in the appointment of the high courts judges is to be clipped with powers being transferred to the politically reconstituted judicial commission.

The bill proposes that Article 196 be amended to provide for appointment of only the senior-most judge as acting chief justice in the absence of the chief justice.

The proposed amendment in Article 197 proposes a limit of one year on the appointment of additional judges.

The bill further curtails the discretionary powers of the president in the tenure of ad-hoc and additional judges. It claims to make the Supreme Judicial Council more accessible and transparent and withdraws the powers of the president to effect intra-provincial transfer of judges.

Senator Rabbani said the civil society must reassert its constitutional role to the exclusion of all institutions to ensure a judiciary which could play a pivotal role as the protector of the rights of the citizens and as a custodian of democratic institutions.