Opinion split in legal fraternity after bill clipping CJP's powers tabled in NA.

After a bill aimed at curtailing the chief justice of Pakistan's (CJP) powers to take suo motu notices and constituting benches of the Supreme Court (SC) was approved by the federal cabinet and presented in the National Assembly on Tuesday, the opinion in the legal fraternity was split.

The cabinet summary for the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill, 2023, states that 'every cause, matter or appeal before the apex court would be heard and disposed of by a bench constituted by a committee comprising the CJP and the two senior-most judges,' adding that 'the decisions of the committee would be taken by a majority.'

Regarding exercising the apex court's original jurisdiction, the bill said that any matter invoking the use of Article 184(3) would first be placed before the abovementioned committee.

'If the committee is of the view that a question of public importance with reference to enforcement of any of the fundamental rights conferred by Chapter I of Part II of the Constitution is involved, it shall constitute a bench comprising not less than three judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan which may also include the members of the committee, for adjudication of the matter,' the bill reads.

Here is what the legal eagles had to say about the bill's proposed amendments to curtail the top court's powers.

Asad Rahim

Barrister Asad Rahim Khan told Dawn.com that the government's legislation was a 'clownish attempt - in the same vein as Israel's Netanyahu - to declaw the one institution standing in the way of the Constitution's violation'.

'It can't be done through ordinary legislation, and it attacks both the independence of the judiciary as well as the principle of trichotomy of powers,' he said.

Salahuddin Ahmed

Terming the amendments as 'excellent and much-needed', Lawyer Salahuddin Ahmed said the proposed changes were in line with what all the bar associations had been demanding.

Ahmed said the bill was in line with the suggestions of the bars regarding the CJP's 'absolute discretion to constitute benches for well over a decade now'.

'In fact, even CJP Asif Khosa had proposed regulating the power of suo motu along similar lines but unfortunately the Supreme Court did not frame rules in this regard,' he said. 'As a result, the Parliament has had to act in the exercise of its law-making powers under Article 191 of the Constitution.'

Ahmed said the right of one appeal against decisions made by the Supreme Court in its original jurisdiction...