President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari has signed the Practice and Procedure Amendment Ordinance after the federal cabinet approved the bill.
According to the ordinance, in the absence of a committee member, the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) will be able to nominate a judge as a committee member, The News has reported.
The ordinance reads, “Each case and appeal will be recorded, and its transcript will be prepared, which will be available to the public, and each case will be heard on its turn; otherwise, reason will be given if the court hears case out of turn.”
The ordinance also says that court benches will look into cases in light of fundamental human rights and public importance.
The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) had passed the Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Act 2023 in a bid to ensure transparent proceedings within the apex court and to safeguard the right to appeal.
However, Supreme Court’s eight member bench, which was chaired by the then Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, stayed the bill due to several petitions challenging it.
