Pakistan: Supreme Court trashes SC Act 2023, dashing ex-PM Nawaz Sharif’s comeback dream

Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Friday (August 11) declared the Supreme Court (Review of Judgements and Orders) Act 2023 null and void, dashing all hopes of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of staging a comeback in the country’s politics.

ANI reported that Sharif and his party wanted to use the act to challenge his lifetime disqualifications in the country’s apex court.

The act was passed by Pakistan’s National Assembly (NA) on April 15, which aimed at giving the right of appeal under Article 184 of the Pakistani constitution.

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A three-member bench of the top court, comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Munib Akhtar and Justice Ijazul Ahsan, had reserved its order on June 19 after hearing multiple petitions against the law.

What did the court say?

The court observed that the law was “repugnant to and ultra vires the Constitution.” “It is accordingly struck down as null and void and of no legal effect,” it added.

Watch:Former PM Nawaz Sharif to return to Pakistan next month?

“In addition, the 2023 Act does not ‘enlarge’ review jurisdiction, it ‘creates’ a new appellate jurisdiction which has no constitutional basis, sanction or authorisation,” the order said.

‘Order won’t have any impact on Nawaz Sharif’

Former law minister Azam Nazeer Tarar expressed his belief that the recent verdict by the apex court would not affect the cases involving the disqualification of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

In a conversation with Geo News immediately after the verdict's announcement, Tarar referred to the verdict as “unfortunate”.

He stated that it is not a positive precedent for the courts to repeatedly intervene in parliamentary affairs and issue rulings that compromise its autonomy.

Responding to the question of whether the verdict might lead to a delay in Nawaz's anticipated return, Tarar confidently said, "Absolutely not." He pointed to an amendment made to the Elections Act, which he described as nearly unanimous legislation.

This amendment limited the disqualification of lawmakers to a maximum of five years, even with retrospective effect.

Why did govt bring the SC Act 2023?

The government maintains that the act was designed to support and “empower” the Supreme Court in its capacity to review judgments and orders. Nonetheless, the opposition viewed this move as an attempt to reverse the disqualification of PML-N leader Nawaz.

The legislative change expanded the Supreme Court's review jurisdiction, granting individuals the right to appeal within 30 days of a judgment in suo motu cases. Consequently, individuals like Nawaz and fellow parliamentarians, who had been disqualified by the Supreme Court in its original jurisdiction, would have the right to appeal their disqualification.

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