Govt leaves laws about judges to next parliament

ISLAMABAD: In a high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi here on Tuesday, it is decided to leave the under consideration constitutional amendments including the one relating to the appointments and accountability of judges, for the next parliament to decide.

Informed sources said that the meeting, which was also attended by law minister, minister for parliamentary affairs, state minister for law and others, however decided to get enacted from the parliament all draft laws proposed by different ministries and divisions for the good of the people at large.

The ministries of law and parliamentary affairs have been told to avoid controversies and focus on simple legislation which should be aimed at reforming the present processes for the relief of common man, replacing old and redundant laws and doing enactment as was promised in the PML-N 2013 election manifesto.

The meeting decided to do such legislation with the consultation of other political parties. The law ministry sources said that over three dozen draft laws as recommended by different ministries and division are presently awaiting the government push for legislation.

The Prime Minister, it is said, however told the law ministry not to touch any draft constitutional amendment as such a move will generate unnecessary controversies. Therefore, it was decided to leave such constitutional changes for the consideration of the next parliament.

Two constitutional amendments, the sources said, were under consideration of the law ministry. One was regarding changes in judges’ appointment and removal procedures whereas the other was concerning the option of doing away with the system of caretaker government.

Sources said that these constitutional changes are bound to cause controversies, which the PML-N government wants to avoid during the last few months of its tenure. After the disqualification of Nawaz Sharif and amid growing tension between the judiciary and ruling party, the law ministry recently had a relook into a draft constitutional amendment bill, which was prepared earlier by a Senate body, to give decisive authority to parliamentary body to appoint judges in the superior judiciary besides empowering the legislature to hold the justices accountable.

A draft amendment bill was prepared by the law ministry following the recommendations of Farooq H Naik-led Senate committee. As against the present situation where the Judicial Commission led by the Chief Justice has the extensive power to get its nominees appointed as judges of the Supreme Court and High Court, the draft constitutional amendment bill gave the parliamentary committee the upper hand in the appointment of judges.

Although the Senate body led by Farook H Naik of PPP had recommended the draft amendment in the constitution with a consensus, now the government believe that moving such an amendment at this point of time will cause controversies. It is also said that even the political parties which had agreed to these amendments in the Senate body, will not support such a constitutional amendment.

Interestingly, the Senate body had recommended constitutional changes in 2015 but the law ministry under the then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif decided to shelve the report. After Nawaz Sharif’s disqualification, the law ministry re-opened the file and prepared a draft bill as well but now it is decided to keep the issue shelved till the arrival of new parliament.