ISLAMABAD: Tomorrow (Monday), Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa will lead a full-court bench that will consider the review petitions, which have been consolidated, challenging the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act, 2023 – a law introduced by the former coalition government.
This way, the new chief justice will preside over one of the most critical pending cases in the Supreme Court on his very first working day.
Previously, his predecessor Umar Ata Bandial, leading an eight-member bench, had suspended the law.
The Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act, 2023 has restricted the chief justice’s authority to take suo motu actions individually. Instead, it has entrusted this authority to a three-member committee consisting of the chief justice and the next two most senior judges.
Furthermore, the legislation specifies that the three-member committee is responsible for forming benches to handle cases, with decisions being made by majority vote in case of disagreements.
Last month, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah recommended that the chief justice suspend proceedings of cases initiated under Article 184(3) of the Constitution. This suspension would last until a final decision on the fate of the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act, 2023, is reached.
His comments were part of a two-page note he issued during the hearing of a petition filed by the PTI chairman challenging amendments in the NAB laws.
However, the three-member bench led by the then chief justice proceeded and later invalidated the changes introduced by the coalition government by accepting the petition.
Justice Shah, however, penned a strong dissenting note in which he advocated for the supremacy of parliament and its authority to enact or repeal laws.
