ISLAMABAD: The government’s bid to control the medical education regulator in its own way has failed for the second time in the past one year.
First, the Senate had passed a disapproving resolution last year, serving a death blow to the Pakistan Medical & Dental Council (PMDC) Ordinance, promulgated by the government, scuttling the existing PMDC. Now the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has shot down the new ordinance on a petition filed by PMDC employees.
The National Assembly passed the scrapped ordinance in November last, but the government did not lay it before the Senate fearing that the opposition parties would nail it through a disapproving resolution, repeating their previous rejection.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) have announced to turn down the ordinance through a disapproving resolution when it would be moved in the Senate.
The Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) ordinance had dissolved the PM&DC and sent hundreds of its employees packing, who were out on streets, protesting against the action.
The earlier ordinance was disapproved by the Senate and was also withdrawn by the government. Later, it was issued in an amended form.
An official told The News that the new ordinance was somewhat different from the previous one and added that it was needed to liberalise the medical education. He said the purpose of immediate takeover of the PMDC building, shutting the office for a week, was to protect the record.
Special Assistant Dr Zafar Mirza was the architect of the new ordinance, which had paved the way for establishment of the PMC to be run by a nine-member body. Its head was called the president. His Ministry of National Health Services had taken over the possession of the PMDC building and directed its 220 employees to go home.
The Pakistan Medical Association had termed the ordinance undemocratic and appealed to political parties to reject it. However, it had been officially stated that the new ordinance has ushered in a new era, beginning with reference to regulation and control of the medical profession by establishing uniform minimum standard of medical education and training and recognition of qualifications in medicine and dentistry. It was said that the implementation of the ordinance required dissolution of current PMDC, and that the government directed the temporary closing down of the PMDC offices to ensure protection of the essential records and assets.
On the force of this ordinance, the PMC had been made a body corporate consisting of the PMDC; the National Medical and Dental Academic Board; and the National Medical Authority.
Prominent lawyer Barrister Omar Sajjad told The News that all actions, including disbandment of an organisation, taken under a presidential ordinance stand scrapped if this legislation done by the Executive is disapproved by the Senate or the National Assembly or both. “All the actions will become void ab initio after the passage of a disapproving motion by either House,”
He said an analogy can be withdrawn from a SupremeCourt decision which ruled while striking down the new contempt law that the old statute on the same subject stands revived. The new law had repealed the previous legislation. The IHC ruled that the dismissed employees of the PMDC stand restored and the PMC put to an end, which means all the actions taken by the government when the present ordinance was in operation were gone.
Omar Sajjad said that an ordinance is promulgated by the Executive which is a temporary legislation and not a permanent law. It can become a law only if the Parliament approves it.
However, another legal expert said that various interpretations are available about the legality of the actions introduced under an ordinance when it is in operation for any length of life. Therefore, this question will eventually go to a superior court for elucidation of various constitutional provisions, he said.
The expert explained that one explanation is that an ordinance being an Executive act would become dead after either House would reject it. “Issuance of ordinance is an emergency measure taken by the Executive which can’t be liberally exercised.”
Another interpretation, he said, is provided in Article 89 of the Constitution. It says that an ordinance shall have the same force and effect as an Act of Parliament and shall be subject to like restrictions as the power of the legislature to make law.
