The Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Amendment Ordinance 2024 is set to be introduced in the National Assembly on Monday (tomorrow). Details of the bill have emerged, indicating that cases will be resolved on a “first come, first served” basis.

In September, President Asif Zardari signed the Practice and Procedure Amendment Ordinance into law.

In October 2023, the Supreme Court reaffirmed the SC (Practice & Procedure) Act, 2023, designed to streamline the operations of the highest court in the country.

Initially passed by parliament in April 2023, the law stipulates that a three-member bench—comprising the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) and the two most senior judges—will now determine whether to take up cases on a suo motu basis. This marks a shift from the previous system, where the CJP held exclusive authority over such decisions.

Furthermore, the Act enhances the court’s review jurisdiction by allowing individuals to file an appeal within 30 days of a judgement in suo motu cases.

Details

Through the Ordinance VIII of 2024, ‘clause 1’ has been inserted in Section 2 of the Act, saying: “Every cause, appeal or matter before the Supreme Court shall be heard and disposed by a Bench constituted by the committee comprising the Chief Justice of Pakistan, the next most senior judge of the Supreme Court and a judge of the Supreme Court nominated by CJP from time to time.”

Likewise, ‘clause 2’ has been inserted in Section 3 of the Act, stating that a bench hearing a matter under Article 184(3) of the Constitution, will decide and identify, before proceeding with the matter on merits through a reasoned and speaking order on the question of public importance involved in the matter and the fundamental right which was sought to be enforced.

Moreover, Section 5 of the Act has been amended for clarity on bench composition. The provision (2) of Section 5 has been removed, and some additions have been made to the first clause to further clarify the composition of the bench.

Similarly, sub-sections a and b have been inserted in Section 7 of the Act.

Section 7 deals with the application for fixation of urgent matters stating that an application pleading urgency or seeking interim relief, filed in a cause, appeal or matter, shall be fixed for hearing within 14 days from the date of its filing.

Now, Section 7A states that: “Unless a transparent criteria was already mentioned or the applicable law requires a decision within a stipulated time, every cause, matter or appeal in the Supreme Court will be heard at its turn based on first in, first out, that is to say, the cases filed first will be heard first. Any bench hearing a case out of its turn will record its reasons for doing so.”

Section 7B, deals with the recording and transcript of the proceedings, and states “Hearing of every cause, matter or appeal in the Supreme Court will be recorded and transcript thereof duly prepared.”

Such recordings and transcripts will be made available to the public, the amendment said, adding that for the purposes of reliance, thereon in any court proceedings, only a certified copy of the transcript against the payment of a fee amounting to Rs50 per page will be used.

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The amendments have been made to further enhance the transparency and effectiveness of the Supreme Court’s powers under Article 191 of the Constitution.

According to the ordinance, decisions on cases can be made based on the principle of public importance under Clause (3) of Article 184 of the Constitution.

The Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Amendment Ordinance 2024 was issued by the President of Pakistan under Article 89 of the Constitution.

This ordinance will come into effect immediately.