ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) Saturday passed a unanimous resolution urging the Supreme Court (SC) to restructure parameters of the power of suo motu.
“The PBC urges the Supreme Court to suitably amend the Supreme Court Rules, 1980, to regulate parameters of exercise of such powers and a special bench of the court be constituted for hearing of suomotu cases,” après release issued by the council said. “PBC unanimously is of the view that the top court should sparingly exercise its powers under Article 184(3) of the constitution,”it added. “The suo motu should only pertain to enforcement of fundamental rights to maintain the principle of trichotomy of powers. State institution and organs should remain within their constitutional domain in discharging their functions,” the statement reads.
The Article 184(3) of the constitution titled “Original jurisdiction of Supreme Court” contains three clauses.
i. The Supreme Court shall, to the exclusion of every other court, have original jurisdiction in any dispute between any two or more governments.
ii. In the exercise of the jurisdiction conferred on it by clause (1), the Supreme Court shall pronounce declaratory judgments only.
iii. Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 199, the Supreme Court shall, if it considers that a question of public importance with reference to the enforcement of any of the fundamental rights conferred by Chapter I of Part II is involved, have the power to make an order of the nature mentioned in the said article.
Section 3 of Article 184 allows the apex court jurisdiction to intervene in matters which are of public importance and to enforce fundamental rights conferred to citizens. All suo motu notices taken by the top judge are based on this specific clause.
Published in Daily Times, April 22nd 2018.
