- Qazi Faez Isa observes presidential ordinances are an insult to Parliament, saying if ordinances are to be issued, the House should be suspended
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday rejected an appeal moved by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) against the formation of election tribunals by the Lahore High Court.
The two-member bench of the Supreme Court, led by Justice Isa and Justice Naeem Afghan, heard the Election Commission’s appeal. The commission’s lawyer, Sikandar Bashir, and PTI lawyer Salman Akram Raja appeared before the court.
The bench after hearing argument from all parties turned down the ECP’s plea and bench forwarded the matter to the SC committee for formation of a larger bench.
During proceedings, Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa observed that issuing presidential ordinances is an insult to Parliament, saying that if ordinances are to be issued, the House should be suspended.
In response, the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) lawyer noted that the Constitution does permit the issuance of ordinances.
During the Supreme Court hearing on the ECP’s appeal regarding the formation of eight election tribunals, the Election Commission’s lawyer argued that forming tribunals is within the commission’s authority under Article 219(c) of the Constitution.
The commission had written to all high courts on February 14 to request lists of judges’ names for tribunal appointments. The Lahore High Court provided two names on February 20, and these judges were notified as election tribunal members. On April 26, two more judges were appointed, with no disputes arising over the formation of four tribunals.
The chief justice questioned why the Chief Election Commissioner and the chief justice of a high court couldn’t meet to resolve issues, criticising the tendency to make everything contentious in Pakistan. He noted that there had also been a dispute between the president and the ECP over election dates. The chief justice suggested that direct communication between the Chief Election Commissioner and the chief justice could have resolved the matter.
Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan remarked that no disputes arose with other high courts, only with the Lahore High Court, whereas the tribunal proceedings in the Balochistan High Court were near completion.
On June 12, Chief Justice Lahore High Court Malik Shahzad Ahmad had ordered the constitution of eight election tribunals. The Election Commission of Pakistan had challenged the decision in the Supreme Court.
