ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari has officially approved the 26th constitutional amendment, with the gazette notification issued shortly after.

The notification, released by the National Assembly, confirms that the 26th Amendment is now an Act of Parliament and has officially become law. The amendment, passed by both the Senate and the National Assembly with a two-thirds majority, is now in effect nationwide.

The 26th constitutional amendment has been enacted following the publication of the official gazette, cementing its place within Pakistan’s legal and constitutional framework.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had earlier sent advice on Monday to President Asif Ali Zardari about ratifying the 26th Constitutional Amendment Bill into law.

The prime minister had signed the advice on the said constitutional amendment bill after its passage by both the houses of the parliament.

On the other day, the bill consisting of 22 clauses, was passed by the Senate of Pakistan with a two-thirds majority. Then, during a session that began late on Sunday night and continued past 5am on Monday, the National Assembly (NA) also passed it with a two-thirds majority. The NA-approved version had 27 clauses after incorporating suggestions made by the Senate.

Following the conclusion of parliamentary procedures, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif forwarded his advice to President Zardari for his assent on the newly-enacted law titled, “The Constitution (26th Amendment) Act, 2024”.

An NA secretariat notification published in the Gazette today, the Act with 27 clauses “received the assent of the President on the 21st October, 2024”.

Under the constitutional amendment, the term for the Chief Justice of Pakistan has been set at three years. A 12-member parliamentary committee will nominate the new Chief Justice of Pakistan from a panel of the three most senior judges.

The committee, comprising eight members from the National Assembly and four from the Senate, will propose the name to the prime minister, who will then forward it to the President for final approval.

Besides, a Judicial Commission of Pakistan, led by the Chief Justice and including three senior judges, two members each from the National Assembly and Senate, the Federal Minister for Law and Justice, the Attorney General, and a nominee of the Pakistan Bar Council, having not less than fifteen years of practice in the Supreme Court, will be responsible for appointments of the judges of the Supreme Court.

The federal government has decided to constitute the parliamentary committee and asked the ruling and opposition parties to nominate their representatives for the committee so that the process to appoint the new chief justice can be started.

Under the Amendment, the country’s top judge will now be “appointed on the recommendation of the Special Parliamentary Committee from amongst the three most senior” Supreme Court judges.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024