ISLAMABAD
The bill for the 27th Constitutional Amendment was tabled before the Senate on Saturday and referred to the standing committees on law and justice, shortly after its draft was approved by the federal cabinet.
As soon as a delayed Senate session began at around 1:15pm, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar who had earlier in the day briefed the media on some features of the proposed legislation requested the suspension of the question hour and other house business so he could brief lawmakers on the amendment.
The law minister then moved the bill before the upper house, with Senate Chairman Yousuf Raza Gillani referring it to the Standing Committee on Law and Justice for review and consideration.
“The bill as introduced in the House stands referred to the Standing Committee on Law and Justice for review and consideration. In line with past parliamentary practice and considering the significance of the proposed constitutional amendments as well as the need for broader deliberations on the subject, the Standing Committee on Law and Justice is directed to invite the chairman and members of the Standing Committee on Law and Justice of the National Assembly to participate in its proceedings and share input on the bill,” he said.
He said that both committees may hold joint meetings for a detailed review and consideration and the report would be presented before the House.
During the session, PTI’s Ali Zafar said that debating the constitutional amendment was not appropriate when the leader of the opposition’s seat remained vacant. He said that the government and its allied parties appeared to be in a hurry to pass the bill.
“I would suggest that instead of sending it to the committee, let this Senate be treated as a committee as a whole,” he said, suggesting the bill be debated by all individuals. He further said that the opposition had received the draft today and had also not yet read a word of it.
“We cannot debate something we have not read,” he said.
Meanwhile, the law minister said that the bill had 49 clauses. “Let me clarify that there are three main areas and two ancillary. It will address five subject areas,” he said.
He highlighted that one of the things agreed in the Charter of Democracy signed in 2006 was the formation of a federal constitutional court which would have superior court judges from all provinces and hear constitutional matters while regular courts would continue to hear all other matters.
“During consultations on the 26th Constitutional Amendment, some of our friends suggested to refrain from making such a huge change and to experiment by making constitutional benches,” he said.
The minister said that constitutional benches had been made but judges spent most of their time listening to such matters and other cases during the rest of the time. “The fact of the matter is that five to six per cent of cases take 40pc of the court’s time and rthe est of the cases remain as is,” he said.
He further stated that some argued that constitutional benches were a “court within a court” and also raised other objections.
“After detailed consultations with all political forces … We said that the wish and demand of a Federal Constitutional Court should be brought into the Parliament which we have done through this bill,” he said.
He said that another issue concerned the process for the transfer of high court judges. This was addressed in the 1973 Constitution, which empowered the president to make the transfer on the advice of the premier in consultation. He said that the transfer could be made for two years without the judge’s consent but longer periods would require it.
“In the 18th Amendment, the two-year condition was removed and it was stated that the judge’s consent would be sought. In the 26th Amendment, the condition remained the same but concerns were raised about the interference of the executive,” he said.
He further said that it was proposed that the bit about the premier’s advice for the transfer of judges be removed and handed over to the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP).
“It also has safeguards that a judge more senior than the chief justice will not be sent so that there is no dispute about that,” he said, adding that it was up to the JCP whether or not it wanted to seek the judge’s consent.
Talking about elections for the upper house of Parliament, he noted that they took place in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after a delay of more than a year.
“The first thing after a Senate election is the election of the chairman and deputy chairman. To avoid any dispute in this regard, a clause has been introduced,” he said.
The minister further said that the bill also proposed increasing the 11pc provincial threshold for the cabinet to 13pc, noting that all provinces had voiced concerns apart from Punjab.
“Previously, there were five provincial advisers … now they have been increased to seven,” he said.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired the cabinet meeting via video link from Azerbaijan, state-run PTV News reported. “The federal cabinet approved the draft for the 27th Constitutional Amendment and welcomed it to the fullest extent,” it added.
“Everyone made joint efforts for the 27th Constitutional Amendment for strengthening the Centre’s relations with the provinces and the country’s wider interests,” the premier was quoted as saying. He commended Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar’s efforts, as well as those of Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan and his team.
