Judicial Reforms.

On Wednesday, the National Assembly unanimously passed the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure), Bill 2023, curbing the chief justice of Pakistan's suo motu powers. This has come about in a surprising turn of events when a day earlier the federal government not only ruled that the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) can no longer constitute benches and initiate suo motu proceedings alone, but also tabled the same bill curtailing unbridled powers of the top judge in the National Assembly for approval. While these are much-needed reforms that have been pending for years given the history of the judiciary, the timing of this development has made this move extremely controversial.

As per the bill, a committee consisting of three senior-most judges of the Supreme Court would decide on the suo motu notice, while there would be a right to file an appeal within 30 days of the suo motu decision. This amendment to include the right to appeal is an important one considering how there have been instances in the past where the suo motu action did not necessarily serve the greater good. In such cases, the right to appeal should be considered a constitutional right. Following the passage of the law, no decision of the SC or high court, or any other law will be able to affect it.

While according to the government, the sole purpose of this move is to make proceedings more transparent, there is no denying that the matter...