On March 29 and March 30, 2023, the National Assembly and Senate, respectively, adopted and enacted the (Practice and Procedure Bill) 2023. Without his signature, the President remitted the bill for review, but on April 10, 2023, the Joint Session of Parliament once more passed the Act after it had complied with all rules and procedures.
According to the Act, each case, appeal, and subject before the Supreme Court will be heard by benches formed by a committee comprising of the Chief Justice and the two senior most judges.
It further stated that any issue involving the use of original jurisdiction under Article 184, paragraph (3), shall be brought before the committee for consideration first.
The committee must then assemble a bench of at least three Supreme Court justices, which may also include committee members, if it deems that the issue involves the enforcement of one or more fundamental rights.
According to the Act, an appeal must be submitted within 30 days of the larger bench of the Supreme Court obtaining jurisdiction over it and its hearing date must be scheduled no later than 14 days after that. When submitting a review application, it also offers a party the flexibility to choose the lawyer of its choice.
