The National Assembly passed the Supreme Court (Practise and Process) Bill, 2023, to restrict Pakistan’s top judge’s discretionary powers to take suo motu notice in an attempt to reinforce checks and balances in the higher judiciary.
The bill was passed hours after the Standing Committee on Law and Justice of the National Assembly (NA) gave its consent.
The bill was moved by the government after two Supreme Court judges — Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail — raised questions over the powers of the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP), saying the apex court “cannot be dependent on the solitary decision of one man, the Chief Justice.”
