F.P. Report
ISLAMABAD: Abid Zuberi, President of Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), has asserted that the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023 was aimed to suppress an institution, vowing that they will not allow anyone to curtail judiciary’s power.
Talking to journalists in Islamabad, the SCBA president noted that as per the Constitution, election should be held within 90 days of dissolution of assemblies. Abid Zuberi questioned the authority of Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for changing the election date, saying that the electoral watchdog would have filed a review petition if it had any objection to the date.
The SCBA president further said that the bar association was not affiliated with any political party. “However, allegations are levelled against us for standing with a victim,” he said. “It is time to impose Article 6 on those who violated the constitution and law”, he stressed, adding that Article 5 and 90 of the constitution will be violated if elections are not held within 90 days.
Referring to Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023, Zuberi questioned the time the bill was president in the Parliament. “The bill’s aim was to suppress an institution,” he said, adding that they would not allow curtailing of judiciary’s power.
NA approves Lawyers Welfare & Protection Bill 2023: The National Assembly on Wednesday approved the Lawyers Welfare and Protection Bill 2023 with consensus. The bill was tabled by Federal Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar.
The federal minister presented the legislation that stated that the profession of lawyers plays a pivotal role in the administration of justice, the defense of human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. However, the recent incidents of assault, criminal force, intimidation, and threats caused to advocates, while they discharge their professional duties, have reached alarming heights, it said.
“This has also resulted in law and order situations and deficiencies in rendering professional services by advocates to their clients apart from causing a deep sense of fear in the minds of advocates,” the Bills said. The Bill intended that in order to protect advocates from the said assaults, criminal force, intimidation and threats, it is necessary to enact legislation to protect advocates while discharging their professional duties.
In this regard, the Bill titled “The Lawyers Welfare and Protection Bill, 2023” was prepared wherein, a mechanism has been devised to ensure that the advocates can render professional services without fear or external influence for the ultimate cause of the administration of justice and the rule of law.
Moreover, the law was also in consonance with the various UN General Assembly Resolutions and in line with the Eighth United Nations Congress held in September, 199O at Havana, Cuba, where it adopted the “Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers” which provides that the Governments shall ensure that layers are able to perform all of their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference and where the security of lawyers is threatened as a result of discharging their functions, they shall be adequately safeguarded by the authorities. The Bill was designed to achieve the aforesaid objectives, it said.
