Senate body takes up Raza Rabbani’s constitutional amendment

ISLAMABAD: The Senate’s committee on Law and Justice in its meeting today (Monday) expected to take up the Private member bill of constitutional amendment of ex-chairman of Senate Senator Raza Rabbani amending the Article 89 of the Constitution to make the mandatory on the government to lay the ordinance in the first sitting of either house of the Parliament (Senate and National Assembly) after its promulgation and if the government fails in laying the promulgated Ordinance in that session of the Parliament then it will should be repealed.

The meeting of Senate’s Committee on Law and Justice will be held today (Monday) with the chair of its Chairman Senator Javed Abbasi in which besides the constitutional amendment bill of Senator Raza Rabbani, the agenda of the committee to consider six bills that include five constitutional amendments bill and on amendment in law before the committee.

The Article 89 of the Constitution, deals with the powers of the president to promulgate the ordinance, when, Parliament is not in session and such extreme circumstances exist wherein legislation become imperative.

In his bill to amend the Article 89 of the Constitution, Senator Rabbani suggested in sub-paragraph (i) of Paragraph (a) of clause (2) before the first proviso flowing be added, “provided that ordinance shall be laid in the first sitting of the National Assembly after its promulgation and shall be repealed if not laid in that session.

Rabbani stated in statement of objects and reasons of the bill that the there is a long history of the power of the president to promulgate the ordinance, when Parliament is not in session and such extreme circumstances exist wherein legislation becomes imperative.

He stated that Parliament is consciously been placing fetters on such powers of the president, but unsuccessfully. Rabbani in a statement of object and reasons of the bill stated that in the recent past, there has been inordinate delay in laying the ordinances promulgated when Parliament was not in session in contravention of Article 89 of the Constitution and this process denied the members as also both the houses of the Parliament from exercising their constitutional right of moving the Resolution of Disapproval under Article 89 of the Constitution.

While the other bill which would be considered in the meeting of Senate Committee on Law and Justice includes, The Islamabad High Court (Amendment) Bill, 2020 introduced by the Senator Kauda Babar and Manzoor Ahmed in the Senate on February 17, 2020.

The Constitution (Amendment) bill, 2020, introduced by Senator Sirajul Haq in the Senate on sitting on June 8, 2020. The Constitutional (Amendment) Bill, 2018 (amendment in Article 11) introduced in the Senate by Senator Quratulain Marri.

The constitution (Amendment) bill 2020, (Amendment of Article 213 and 215) introduced in Senate by Senator Lt General (R) Abdul Qayyum. The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2019 (Amendment of Article 213) introduced in the Senate by Senator Sirajul Haq. The Guardians and Wards (Amendment) Bill, 2019 introduced in the Senate by Senator Farooq H Naek in the Senate on January 6, 2020.