ISLAMABAD: The opposition of the Muslim League of Pakistan-Nawaz (PML-N) was challenged on Saturday in the presidential ordinances of the High Court of Islamabad (IHC) promulgated by the government of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf on November 7.
The ordinances were related to the conversion of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council into the Pakistan Medical Commission, the protection of whistleblowers who reported on any Benami property and assets, the property rights of women on the property, the rapid mechanism for the issuance of the letter of administration and the certificates of succession. , the establishment of legal assistance and the authority of justice to provide justice to the poor and vulnerable segments of society, judicial dress and the manner of addressing judges, the recovery of mortgage-backed securities by financial institutions and the National Highway Safety
The PML-N legislator, lawyer Mohsin Shahnawaz Ranjha, challenged these ordinances in the IHC through his lawyer, lawyer Umer Gillani.
The petition cited President Dr. Arif Alvi, chief secretary of the prime minister and secretaries of law, National Assembly and Senate as respondents.
The petition held that the petitioner was a member of the National Assembly (MNA) and that he had occupied the portfolio of the Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs in the previous government.
He said that the president, in accordance with article 89 of the Constitution of Pakistan, was empowered to enact ordinances, which were a form of temporary legislation subject to two expressly stipulated conditions: (a) when neither the Senate nor the National Assembly are in session; and (b) if there are circumstances that make it necessary to take immediate action.
In addition, he said the president was obliged to act and in accordance with the advice of the federal government. This means that the final responsibility for the promulgation of the contested ordinances rests with the federal government.
According to the petition, on October 30, 2019, President Alvi issued eight ordinances in a single day, including “the Ordinance on the Letter of Administration and Certificates of Succession, 2019; Compliance with the Ordinance on women's property rights, 2019; Benami Transaction Ordinance (Prohibition) (Amendment), 2019; Ordinance (Repeal) of the Order of Superior Courts (Court Attire and Address), 2019; National Responsibility Ordinance (amendment), 2019; Ordinance on legal assistance and judicial authority, 2019; The Whistleblower Law.
He said that at the time of enacting these ordinances, the president had good reason to be aware of the next session of the Senate that will begin on November 5 and the session of the National Assembly that will begin on November 7. However, without waiting for these parliament sessions, the president hastened to promulgate eight ordinances in a single day.
“The website of the National Assembly indicates that since September 24, 2018, the president has enacted at least 20 ordinances. It seems that the ruling party has adopted the development of ordinances as the normal and routine method for legislation, while avoiding the development of parliamentary laws as much as possible, ”said the petition.
When referring to the relevant constitutional provisions, the petition stated that “Article 89 represents a narrow exception to the general procedure for the elaboration of legislation. The simple reading of the text shows that the power to legislate conferred on the president by article 89 is intended only to deal with emergencies and not to handle routine matters. ”
The petition said that these ordinances did not represent a good faith exercise of power conferred by Article 89, and added that all contested ordinances were intended to achieve long-term governance reform, which, while important, fell directly into the routine category legislation.
The petitioner further noted that the federal government could not enact the law without following the procedure established by the Constitution that forced them to present the bill before the Houses of Parliament and obtain a simple majority.
"Therefore, the federal government cannot be allowed to annul its legislative agenda using presidential emergency powers to enact ordinances under Article 89 to subvert parliament," said the petition.
The petitioner prayed to the court to declare the presidential ordinances issued by the current government as illegal, unconstitutional and ultra vires of article 89 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and have been promulgated in bad faith.
Posted in Dawn, November 10, 2019
Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1515894/ordinances-promulgated-on-nov-7-challenged-in-ihc