Latest news with #CivilCourts(Amendment)Bill
Business Recorder
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Business Recorder
Senate passes Civil Courts (Amendment) Bill, 2025
ISLAMABAD: The Upper House of the Parliament on Friday passed the Civil Courts (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which provides that the appeals against the orders of the civil courts would only go to district courts — while the last day of the 350th Senate session was marked with apparent disinterest of lawmakers amidst the absence of Senate leadership — before the House was prorogued. In the absence of chairman and deputy chairman Senate, Irfan Siddiqui from Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) presided over the Senate session. Following the absence of Law Minister Azam Tarar, Climate Change State Minister Shezra Mansab presented the Civil Courts (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which received criticism from the Opposition Leader in Senate Shibli Faraz. 'The state minister does not know, at all, what this bill is all about. It would have been better had the law minister been here to present this bill,' he said. The bill was finally presented in and passed by the House. Already passed by the National Assembly, the bill now seeks President Asif Ali Zardari's ascent to become a law. According to the Statement of Objects and Reasons of the Civil Courts (Amendment) Bill, 2025, the prices of the properties are ostensibly high in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), and valuation of most of the regular first appeals, against orders / decrees of civil courts, is more than 25,000 rupees due to which pendency on appellate side of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has increased manifolds. Under Section 18(1)(a) of the West Pakistan Civil Courts Ordinance, 1962, the IHC has pecuniary, appellate jurisdiction exceeding Rs 2.5 million. 'By virtue of the Punjab Civil Courts (Amendment) Act, 2016, the Lahore High Court has already enhanced its appellate, pecuniary jurisdiction from 2.5 million rupees to 50 million rupees. However, pecuniary, appellate jurisdiction of Islamabad High Court remained the same i,e. 2.5 million rupees. In order to decrease burden of litigation on appellate side of Islamabad High Court, there is need to make district courts the forum to entertain appeals arising out from decrees or orders of civil judges,' says the Statement of Objects and Reasons of this bill. New bills; Civil Servants (Amendment) Bill, 2025, Pakistan Navy (Amendment) Bill, 2025, Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (Amendment) Bill, 2025, Extradition (Amendment) Bill, 2025, Pakistan Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2025, and Anti-Dumping Duties (Amendment) Bill, 2025 were moved in the House and referred to relevant standing committees. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Express Tribune
20-03-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Senate body adopts civil courts bill
The Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice on Wednesday adopted the Civil Courts (Amendment) Bill, 2025. The law committee convened under the chairmanship of Senator Farooq Hamid Naek to review and discuss several key legislative bills. The committee adopted the Civil Courts (Amendment) Bill, 2025, as introduced by Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar, Minister for Law and Justice. The bill, which had already been passed by the National Assembly, aims to reduce the mounting burden of litigation on the appellate side of the Islamabad High Court. The bill seeks to address the growing issue of pendency in the Islamabad High Court, which has been exacerbated by the rising property prices in the Islamabad territory. As property valuations now exceed twenty-five hundred thousand rupees, a significant number of regular first appeals against civil court orders and decrees have increased the caseload. Senator Tarar highlighted the necessity of having district courts entertain such matters, thereby reducing pressure on the appellate side of the Islamabad High Court. The committee also addressed the issue of the delay in notifying the nomination of Senator Hamid Khan as a member of the Board of Governors of the Legal Aid and Justice Authority. Chairman Senator Farooq Hamid Naek directed that the nomination be notified at the earliest and that the committee be updated on the progress. The Senate body engaged in a detailed discussion regarding the 'Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2024', introduced by Senator Munzoor Ahmed and Danesh Kumar. The bill, which seeks to amend Article 51 of the Constitution, was debated with input from the Ministry. The committee took note of the findings from the 2023 population census, which revealed that the Christian community is predominantly concentrated in Punjab, while the Hindu community is largely based in Sindh. This geographical disparity could pose challenges if each province is designated as a single constituency for minority reserved seats. The committee chairman advised further review of the bill based on population data and under the relevant legal framework. The movers of the bill requested additional time to consider amendments. Similarly, the committee deliberated on the 'Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2024', introduced by Senator Khalida Ateeb. This bill was deferred due to the lack of support from the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the pending comments from other provincial governments. The 'Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2024', moved by Senator Aon Abbas, which proposes the creation of a new province of South Punjab, was also deferred. Additionally, the 'Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2024', introduced by Senator Muhammad Abdul Qadir, which proposes an amendment to Article 27 concerning quotas, was deferred for further review. The committee chairman expressed the need to review previous judgments by the Supreme Court on the matter of time limits for quotas before proceeding.
