ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Law has submitted a petition for the review of the Supreme Court’s decision on the Review of Judgments and Orders Act 2023.
The law ministry has requested the apex court to review its August 11 verdict.
A three-member bench of the apex court, led by Chief Justice Bandial and including Justices Ijazul Ahsan and Munib Akhtar, had declared the legislation void in its verdict. Justice Munib Akhtar had also penned an additional note on the legislation in the verdict.
The law ministry has asked the court for a 15-day extension to submit additional documents, a request that the Registrar Office has granted, according to sources.
On August 11, 2023, the apex court invalidated the Supreme Court (Review of Judgments and Orders) Act. The Supreme Court, in its brief verdict, commented that the parliament did not have the authority to enact such legislation.
Under Article 184 (3) of the Review of Judgments Act, an affected party had the right to appeal against court decisions in cases.
Legal Challenge to Supreme Court’s Review Act 2023
Riaz Hanif Rahi advocate and others challenged the Supreme Court (Review of Judgments and Orders) Act 2023, seeking to declare the new law as void.
The petitions argued that the Supreme Court Review of Judgments and Orders Act 2023 violated the Constitution.
Article 188 of the Constitution grants the Supreme Court the authority to review any judgment or order it has issued, subject to any Act of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) and any rules set by the Supreme Court.
The law provides the right for an aggrieved person to file a review petition against an order issued under clause (3) of Article 184 of the Constitution, before the enactment of this legislation. It stipulates that the petition be filed within sixty days from the commencement of this legislation.
Further it proposes that a bench larger than the one that issued the original judgment should hear a review petition. It also states that the review petitioner has the right to choose any advocate of the Supreme Court for the review petition.
