Constitution (Twenty-sixth Amendment) Act, 2024.

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[TO BE INTRODUCED IN THE SENATE]
Bill
further to amend the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
WHEREAS, it is expedient further to amend the Constitution of the Islamic
Republic of Pakistan, in the manner and for the purposes hereinafter appearing;
It is hereby enacted as follows:-
Short title and commencement.- (1) This Act shall be called the
Constitution (Twenty-sixth Amendment) Act, 2024.
(2) This Act shall come into force at once.
2. Insertion of new Article 9A of the Constitution.- In the Constitution of
the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, hereinafter called as the Constitution, after Article 9, the
following new Article 9A shall be inserted, namely:-
“9A. Clean and healthy environment.- Every person shall be entitled to a
clean, healthy and sustainable environment.”.
3. Amendment of Article 48 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in
Article 48, for clause (4), the following shall be substituted, namely:-
“(4) The question whether any, and if so what, advice was tendered to the
President by the Cabinet, or the Prime Minister, shall not be inquired into in, or by,
any court, tribunal or other authority.”.
Amendment of Article 81 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in
4.
Article 81,-
(i)
in paragraph (b), for the words “Supreme Court”, the expression “Supreme
Court, the Judicial Commission of Pakistan, the Supreme Judicial Council
shall be substituted; and
(i) - in paragraph (d), the word “and” shall be omitted and thereafter the
following new paragraph shall be inserted, namely:-
“(da) any sums required to organize and conduct elections to the National
Assembly, Senate, Provincial Assemblies and the local
governments; and”.
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5. Amendment of Article 111 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in
Article 111, after the expression “The Advocate-General”, the expression “and an
Adviser appointed under clause (11) of Article 130” shall be inserted.
6.
Article 175A,-
Amendment of Article 175A of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in
(ii)
(i) Chief Justice of Pakistan; Chairperson
(ii) Presiding Judge; Member
Members
(ili) three most senior Judges of the Supreme
Court;
(iv) Federal Minister for Law a n d Justice; M e m b e r
Attorney-General for Pakistan; Member
(v)
(vi) an advocate having not less than fifteen years
of practice in the Supreme Court t o . . b e
nominated by the Pakistan Bar Council for a
term of two years;
Member
(vii) members from the Senate and two
members from the National Assembly of whom
two shall be from the Treasury Benches, one
from each House, and two from the Opposition
Benches, o n e f r o m e a c h House. The
nomination from the Treasury Benches shall
be made by the Leader of the House and from
the Opposition Benches by the Leader of the
Opposition:
Provided that during the time when the
National Assembly stands dissolved, the
remaining two members, for the purpose of
this paragraph, shall be nominated from the
Senate in the manner as aforesaid, for such
period;
Members
(viii) a woman or non-Muslim, other than a member
of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament), who is
qualified to be a member of the Senate as a
technocrat, to be nominated by the Speaker of
the National Assembly for a term of two years.
Member
in clause (1), after the expression “Shariat Court,”, the expression
“and for performance evaluation of Judges of the High Courts,” shall
be inserted;
for clause (2), the following shall be substituted, namely:-
“(2) For appointment of Judges of the Supreme Court, the
Commission shall consist of-
Explanation.- If the Presiding Judge is the Chief Justice of
Pakistan or is from amongst the Judges in paragraph (iii) of clause
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(8) The Council shall issue a code of conduct to be observed by
Judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts.
(9) Subject to the rules made by the Council, there shall be a
secretariat of the Council to be headed by a secretary and shall include
such other officers and staff, as may be necessary.”.
19.
Amendment of Article 215 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in
Article 215, in clause (1),-
(A) after the first proviso, the following new proviso shall be inserted,
namely:-
“Provided further that the Commissioner and a member shall,
notwithstanding the expiration of his term, continue to hold office
until his successor enters upon the office:”; and
(B) in the existing second proviso, for the word “further”, the word “also”
shall be substituted.
20. Amendment of Article 255 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in
Article 255, in clause (2), for the words “that person”, occurring at the end, the
expression “the Chief Justice of a High Court, in case of a Province and by the Chief
Justice of Pakistan, in all other cases” shall be substituted.
21. Amendment of Article 259 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in
Article 259, in clause (2), for the words “or nursing”, the expression”, science,
technology, medicine, arts or public service" shall be substituted.
22. Amendment of the Fourth Schedule to the Constitution.- In the
Constitution, in the Fourth Schedule, in PART 1, in entry 2, after the expression
“cantonment areas,”, the expression “local taxes, fees, cess, charges, tolls in such
areas,” shall be inserted.
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STATEMENT OF OBJECTS AND REASONS
The Pakistan Bar Council, the Supreme Bar Association, the Provincial Bar Councils and
the High Courts Bar Associations have since long recommended to improve the criteria and bring
transparency in the appointment process of Judges of the Superior Courts and to give a meaningful role
to Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) in the appointment process. Also, it has been a consistent demand of the
legal community and the civil society to put in place an effective mechanism for performance evaluation
of the Judges of the High Courts and make necessary amendments for their removal from office if they
are found inefficient and fail to discharge their solemn duty to dispense justice to the public. Further,
since the pendency of cases in the Supreme Court and the High Courts has considerably increased thus,
causing huge backlog of pending cases of the ordinary litigants. This has necessitated creation of
constitutional benches dedicated to hearing matters of constitutional and political significance thus,
enabling the Supreme Court and High Courts to focus on the cases of ordinary litigants and dispose them
of in a timely manner. Furthermore, over the years, it has been demanded by all and sundry to structure
the jurisdictions vested in the Supreme Court and High Courts under Articles 184(3) and 199. Also, recently
the Judiciary has recognized that seniority is no longer a benchmark or criteria for appointment of Chief
Justices of the High Courts, therefore, it is only proper that a consistent practice is followed for the
appointment of Chief Justice of Pakistan, from amongst the most senior Judges of the Supreme Court,
while entrusting the nomination of Chief Justice of Pakistan to the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament). Finally,
Pakistan has been one of the countries, worst affected by climate change. As has been said, we are the
first generation to feel the impact of climate change and the last generation that can do something about
it. Therefore, it is necessary and need of the hour to recognize right to clean, healthy and sustainable
environment as a fundamental right in our Constitution.
2. This Bill has been designed to achieve the aforesaid objective.
Azam Nazeer Tarar
Minister-in-charge
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Constitution (Twenty-sixth Amendment) Act, 2024.