Islamabad:
Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Mian Rauf Atta and Senior Supreme Court’s lawyer Hafiz Ehsan Khokhar has submitted proposals to amend the Supreme Court’s rules to facilitate the litigation.
The proposals include the determination of time limits for lawyers for both parties to present arguments, decide that all cases filed with the Supreme Court within a year, issuing court decisions the same day as hearings and releasing reserved judgments within a month.
The 12-page set proposal has been submitted to the Supreme Court. Referrals to the legal systems in Turkiye, China, France, Germany and Norway were also included in the draft.
The proposals called for a rise in court taxes and said the Supreme Court is not a revenue -generating authority and that higher fees contradict Article 37 (d) of the Constitution that guarantee cheap and rapid justice.
They noted that only minimal fees are charged in Norway and Germany and that access to justice must be available to all citizens, not only those who are financially strong. In the UK and India, they said, courts even sit in the evening to hear urgent cases.
It has been suggested that any appeal filed with the Supreme Court should be decided within a year while civilian appeals must be concluded within six months. Once a case is laid down on the causal list, it should not be deloted unless they are under extraordinary circumstances or emergencies. If a case is delisted, it must automatically be translated on the next working day.
They also recommended that short orders were issued on the same day of hearings, while detailed assessments should be released within a month. Appeals filed in the Supreme Court must be determined for consultation within two months and all cases should be disposed of within a year.
SCBA also suggested that the responsibility body for judges – SJC – should have an open procedure. It also recommended that any complaint filed against a judge should be decided within six months.
