Constitution Petitions No. 6 to 8, 10 to 12, 18 to 20 and 33 of 2023 [Challenging the vires of the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act, 2023]
In a landmark case, petitions were directly filed under Article 184(3) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, challenging the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act, 2023. These petitions (Constitution Petition Nos. 6 to 8 of 2023) were initiated after a bill, titled the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill, 2023, was introduced in the National Assembly. A smaller bench of the Supreme Court initially heard the petitions and issued an order on April 13, 2023. However, by April 21, 2023, the bill had been passed into law, formally becoming the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act, 2023.
The Act brought about significant reforms to the functioning of the Supreme Court, including the following provisions:
Requiring a three-member committee of senior judges, including the CJP, to approve all suo moto notices.
Establishing a transparent process for the formation of benches for hearing crucial constitutional issues.
Giving parties the right to appeal to the Supreme Court within 30 days of a final order from a lower court.
Requiring the apex court to hear applications alleging urgency or requesting interim relief within 14 days of filing.
A full court of the Honourable Supreme Court of Pakistan was constituted to hear the abovementioned Petitions and notices were issued to the political parties to present their views on the said Act. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement was represented by Mr. Faisal Siddiqi, ASC who gave his views in the favour of the legislation in question.
A full court bench comprising 15 judges, presided by the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, pronounced the judgement. The law was deemed in accordance with the Constitution. According to the verdict, the right to appeal will not apply retrospectively. The clause seeking application of the right to appeal on past decisions was voided with 8-7 majority, while the chief justice dissented from the decision. The right to appeal in decisions of suo motu cases under Article 184(3) was sustained with a 6-9 majority. Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Mazahar Naqvi, Justice Muneeb Akhtar, Justice Ayesha Malik were among the dissenters of the 10-5 verdict.
The following documents are available for viewing online:
Short Order dated 11.10.2023
SC Order dated 13.04.2023 (Smaller Bench Order)
SC Order dated 11.10.2023 (Short Order)
SC Order dated 15.12.2023 (Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi)
SC Order dated 15.12.2023 (Justice Yahya Afridi)
SC Order dated 15.12.2023 (Detailed Order)
SC Order dated 15.12.2023 (Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar)
SC Order dated 07.05.2024 (Justice Ayesha A. Malik)
SC Order dated 07.03.2024 (Justice Mansoor Ali Shah)
SC Order dated 07.05.2024 (Justice Shahid Waheed)