Pakistan: Supreme Court cancels the law of review of decisions, Nawaz Sharif’s hopes turn water

Pakistan’s Supreme Court in a unanimous decision on Friday struck down a law amending the process for reviewing its decisions. The decision dented the hopes of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who wanted to challenge his life disqualification from holding public office. A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial said in the judgment that the Supreme Court (Review of Judgments and Orders) Act-2023 was unconstitutional. “Parliament cannot legislate on any matter relating to the jurisdiction and powers of the Supreme Court,” the court said in an 87-page order. It said there was no doubt that the right to interpret the Constitution was absolute. Since then it is with the Supreme Court of Pakistan. After six hearings, the Supreme Court had reserved its judgment on June 19.

The Pakistan government in May enacted legislation to give it the right to file appeals against convictions by the Supreme Court under its original jurisdiction. Nawaz Sharif, the elder brother of outgoing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, was disqualified by a five-judge bench of the apex court in 2017, but he could not file an appeal as there was no law to challenge the Supreme Court verdict. Nawaz (73) was disqualified for life from holding public office following a Supreme Court verdict in 2018. The former prime minister has been in London for medical treatment since November 2019, when a Pakistani court granted him a four-week respite. Nawaz, a three-time prime minister of Pakistan, was serving a seven-year jail term in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat Jail in the Al-Azizia corruption case before leaving for London. The Supreme Court had also disqualified leader Jahangir Tareen under Article-62.

Geo News reports that had today’s verdict been in favor of the petitioners, both the leaders would have got a chance to challenge their disqualification. A three-judge bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial pronounced the verdict after hearing several petitions challenging the controversial law. Justice Ejazul Ahsan and Justice Muneeb Akhtar were also part of this bench. The detailed judgment said the law was “unconstitutional” besides being beyond the legislative competence of Parliament. “Accordingly, it is set aside as null and void and shall have no legal effect,” the order said. The court said the legislation was an attempt to interfere with the common law of jurisdiction and powers of the Supreme Court. Reacting to the court striking down the law, former law minister Azam Nazir Tarar told Geo News that the decision was unfortunate. Asked about the fate of Nawaz Sharif after the law was declared null and void, he said the verdict would have no bearing on the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supreme leader’s disqualification case.

He said, “It is not a good practice that the courts repeatedly interfere in the functioning of the Parliament and give such decisions, which harm its independence.” The law was brought when Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province The tension between the executive and the judiciary had increased due to differences on holding elections. Since Chief Justice Bandial was acting suo motu, the government hastily curtailed his discretionary powers to act suo motu and set up a panel of judges to proceed with such matters. the law was passed. The law also extended the scope of review against decisions taken by courts under suo motu jurisdiction and allowed appeals to be filed by all those affected by such decisions.

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