Islamabad:
The president of the Association of Lawyers of the Supreme Court (SCBA), Mian Rouf Atta, and the main lawyer of the Supreme Court, Hafiz Ehsan Khokhar, have presented proposals to amend the rules of the Supreme Court to facilitate litigating persons.
The proposals include establishing time limits for both parties to present arguments, deciding each case presented in the Supreme Court within a year, issuing judicial orders the same day as the hearings and the release of reserved judgments within a month.
The 12 -page proposals set has been submitted to the Supreme Court Registrar. References to Turkiye, China, France, Germany and Norway justice systems were also included in the draft.
The proposals asked to withdraw the increase in court fees, saying that the Supreme Court is not an income -generating authority and that the highest rates contradict article 37 (d) of the Constitution, which guarantees economic and rapid justice.
They pointed out that only minimal rates are charged in Norway and Germany, and that access to justice should be available to all citizens, not only for those who are financially strong. In the United Kingdom and India, they said, the courts even sit at night to listen to urgent cases.
It has been suggested that each appeal filed in the Supreme Court must be decided within a year, while civil appeals must conclude within six months. Once a case is solved in the cause list, it should not be eliminated unless in extraordinary circumstances or emergencies. If a case is eliminated, you must automatically fix the next business day.
They also recommended that short orders are issued on the same day of audiences, while detailed judgments must be published within a month. Appeals presented in the Supreme Court must be set for an hearing within two months, and all cases must be eliminated within a year.
The SCBA also proposed that the body of responsibility for the judges, the SJC, should perform open procedures. In addition, he recommended that any complaint filed against a judge decided within six months.
