ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – President Asif Zardari has signed the Practice and Procedure Amendment Ordinance, and the ordinance has now been issued.
A new subsection has been added to Section 2 of the existing Practice and Procedure Act, which includes the Chief Justice of Pakistan, the senior-most judge, and a judge nominated by the Chief Justice in the committee under this Act.
The ordinance has amended Section 3 of the Practice and Procedure Act. According to subsection 2 of Section 3, reasons of public interest will need to be provided before the hearing. The ordinance has also introduced Sections 7A and 7B into the Practice and Procedure Act.
According to Section 7A, cases that are filed earlier will be heard first. If a judicial bench hears a case out of turn, it will be required to provide reasons. Section 7B states that the recording and transcription of every case and appeal will be prepared.
Under the ordinance, transcripts and recordings of judicial proceedings will be available to the public.
It should be noted that earlier, the federal cabinet approved the Practice and Procedure Ordinance through a circulation summary.