Federal Law and Justice Minister Wasi Zafar on Thursday released the detailed bill that will establish federal commercial courts to expedite action on commercial and financial disputes with appellate as well as original jurisdictions. Addressing a news conference, the minister allayed the fears expressed by some lawyers that the courts might be a parallel judiciary and said that the federal courts would be separate from the high court, but function under the supervisory and administrative control of the Supreme Court.
The 26-page bill on the federal courts, Wasi Zafar said, was being issued before its presentation to the Cabinet to invite public comments and hoped that the corporate sector and legal experts would send in their reactions within the shortest possible time.
Federal Law and Justice Secretary former Justice Mansoor Ahmed said that the bill envisaged setting up of 28 such courts. Headed by a chief judge, the courts will have varying strength and function in benches appointed at Karachi, Lahore, Quetta and Peshawar and other stations that may be considered wanting their presence.
The courts will function from Islamabad and would not only facilitate disposal of commercial and financial matters but would also satisfy the concerns of the Word Trade Organisation (WTO) and help in building investors confidence.
He told a questioner that the federal courts would take away 30 percent of the load of the high courts. Appeals against their decisions will go to the Supreme Court. However, the federal court will have the power to have intra-court appeals by a division or full bench.
The law empowers the president to appoint the chief judge and other judges from a panel recommended by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court as well as the professional bodies and public organisations.
Justice Mansoor Ahmed said that the chief judge or any other judge would be from among the persons who would be eligible to be a judge of the high court, serving in a public organisation in BPS-21 or above and has experience in commercial, economic or financial matters for not less than 15 years.
Former judges of the superior judiciary, including the tribunals or courts set up under a federal law and had experience in the relevant fields.
A judge on such courts, the proposed bill said, would be able to work until he reaches 68 years of age. They will be entitled to emoluments and perks equal to those enjoyed by the judges of the high courts.
The federal courts will have exclusive original jurisdiction specified in Schedule II and appellate jurisdiction as provided in the Schedule III.
On the original side, those jurisdictions entertain cases falling under the Companies Ordinance 1984, the Charted Accountants Ordinance 1961, the Insurance Ordinance 2000, the Privatisation Commission Ordinance 2000, the Non-performing Assets and Rehabilitation of Industrial Undertakings Legal Proceedings Ordinance 2000, the Patents Ordinance 2000, the Financial Institutions (Recovery of Finances) Ordinance 2001, etc. It provides for filing a petition or suit directly filed in the court and it records evidence.
Explaining the scope of appellate jurisdiction, the federal law secretary referred to a number of federal statutes, including the Imports and Exports (Control) Act, the Copies Rights Ordinance, the Customs Act, the Drug Act, the Emigration Ordinance, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority Ordinance, the Industrial Relation Ordinance under which the high courts hear appeals against the decisions of courts and tribunals such as banking courts, drug courts, income tax tribunals and customs tribunals, etc.
These will also be transferred to the proposed courts and its decisions will be binding on the courts and tribunals as provided under Article 189 of the Constitution.
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