Hours after approval of both houses of parliament, Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday signed into law the contentious constitutional amendment that puts a cap on the tenure of the country’s chief justice at three years. The development came after an overnight debate.
The amendment also makes other key changes related to the judiciary in the constitution, with the government saying the reforms will empower the parliament amid its tensions with the judiciary.
On Sunday, the 26th Constitution Amendment Bill was greenlit by the Senate with a two-thirds majority. Then, during a session that began late on Sunday night and continued past 5 am on Monday, the National Assembly also passed the bill, which the opposition alleges is aimed at watering down the powers of the independent judiciary, with 225 members in the 336-member house supporting the proposed legislation.
President Asif Ali Zardari later gave his assent to the bill, which became law after his signatures.
According to a National Assembly secretariat notification, ‘The Constitution (26th Amendment) Act, 2024’ “received the assent of the President".
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the Sunni-Ittehad Council (SIC) opposed the amendment in the National Assembly, but six independent members who held their seats with the support of the PTI supported the bill.
The government needed 224 votes to pass the amendment.
The Senate on Sunday night voted 65-4 to approve the amendment with the required two-thirds majority. The ruling coalition needed the support of 64 members in the upper house of the parliament.
The bill, comprising a set of constitutional amendments, including a special commission to appoint a chief justice out of three senior-most judges of the Supreme Court, was approved by the cabinet on Sunday with a consensus among the ruling coalition partners.
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar who presented the bill in the Senate said the 'new-face' commission would consist of the Chief Justice, four senior-most Supreme Court judges, two senators and two national assembly members - one of each from the opposition.
He said the changes would help expedite the dispensation of justice by the apex court.
The amendment blocked the automatic rise of the senior-most Supreme Court judge to the post of chief justice after the incumbent CJP retired.
Speaker Ayaz Sadiq presided over the proceedings in the National Assembly.
According to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has signed the advice for President Asif Ali Zardari to ratify the 26th constitutional amendment.
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