The Constitutional Bench gets to work

ISLAMABAD: According to the cause list released here on Wednesday, the Supreme Court’s first-ever constitutional bench will begin hearing cases on Thursday (today), starting with a matter pertaining to environmental pollution that dates back 31 years.
18 constitutional matters will be heard on Thursday and 16 on Friday by a six-member constitutional bench presided over by Justice Aminuddin Khan and consisting of Justices Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Musarrat Hilali, and Naeem Akhtar Afghan.

The 26th Constitutional Amendment, which was just ratified by parliament, established the constitutional bench, and Thursday would be its inaugural hearing. Justice Aminuddin Khan was named head of the bench by the Judicial Commission following the change.
By the way, the bench’s first three cases were all environmental in nature. The first was filed in 1993 and concerns human rights and environmental damage. The third case has been ongoing since 2016, while the second case, which was filed in 2003, also has to do with environmental degradation.

Additionally, there are a few unimportant matters on the list, like the appeal against the direct appointment of Qazi Faez Isa as the chief justice of the Balochistan High Court (BHC) and the request to remove former President Arif Alvi from office.
Other comparable cases include the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) revision case, the 2012 drug case, the request to reschedule the general elections for 2024, and the appointment of the deputy commissioner of Karachi.

A petition to declare all laws issued during the previous Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) administration, which took power in April 2022, void would be one of the legal concerns the bench would consider. Another case would be the review of verdicts.

Additionally, a petition demanding the disqualification of assembly members with properties and businesses overseas as well as a petition to prohibit government officials from marrying foreigners had been scheduled for hearing.
The cases, which include a 24-year-old petition filed under Article 184-3 of the Constitution for the implementation of taxes in the northern areas and a suo motu notice issued in 2018 concerns the foreign accounts of Pakistani residents, will be heard by the same court on Friday (tomorrow).
A suo motu case concerning the use of the Convention Center, a ruling on terrorism by the Lahore High Court, the Lady Health Workers Program, and a petition submitted by Khawaja Asif are among the other matters that will be considered.