SCBA pushes for sweeping SC reforms

Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Mian Rauf Atta and senior Supreme Court lawyer Hafiz Ehsan Khokhar have submitted proposals for amending the Supreme Court Rules to facilitate the litigant people. The proposals include setting time limits for lawyers of both parties to present arguments, deciding every case filed in the Supreme Court within one year, issuing court orders the same day as hearings, and releasing reserved judgments within one month. The 12-page set of proposals has been submitted to the Supreme Court Registrar. References to the justice systems of Turkiye, China, France, Germany, and Norway were also included in the draft. The proposals called for withdrawing increase in the court fees, saying that the Supreme Court is not a revenue-generating authority and that higher fees contradict Article 37(d) of the Constitution, which guarantees inexpensive and prompt justice. They noted that only minimal fees are charged in Norway and Germany, and that access to justice should be available to all citizens, not just those who are financially strong. In the UK and India, they said, courts even sit in the evenings to hear urgent cases. It has been suggested that every appeal filed in the Supreme Court should be decided within one year, while civil appeals should be concluded within six months. Once a case is fixed in the cause list, it should not be delisted unless in extraordinary circumstances or emergencies. If a case is delisted, it should automatically be re-fixed on the next working day. They also recommended that short orders be issued on the same day of hearings, while detailed judgments should be released within one month. Appeals filed in the Supreme Court should be fixed for hearing within two months, and all cases should be disposed of within one year. The SCBA also proposed that the accountability body for judges — the SJC — should hold open proceedings. It further recommended that any complaint filed against a judge should be decided within six months.

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