Islamabad (Pakistan Khabar): The 126-page rules of the Federal Constitutional Court have been issued, setting out detailed procedures for contempt of court, review petitions, death sentences, adjournments, appeals concerning Article 63-A of the Constitution, oral arguments, formation of benches, and matters related to lawyers.
Under the rules, the court may take suo motu notice of contempt of court as well as act on an application by any person. A minimum cost of Rs25,000 may be imposed on a baseless or mala fide review petition, while the petitioner will also have to deposit Rs50,000 as security before the hearing, which may be forfeited if the petition is dismissed.
A review petition will generally be fixed before the same bench that issued the initial decision. A second review petition against its order will not be admissible.
In death penalty cases, filing a review petition will automatically stay the execution of the sentence, and no separate court order will be required for this purpose. However, this facility will not be available after all legal proceedings involving the appeal, review, and mercy petition have been completed.
The rules also prescribe a procedure for requesting records of important cases concerning constitutional interpretation from the relevant court. The court may, after hearing the parties as necessary, issue an appropriate order.
A special procedure has also been established for petitions concerning detention. Such a petition will be fixed for hearing within seven days and no court fee will be imposed. Where a prima facie case is established, the court may also order that the detained person be produced before it.
In criminal cases, an application for leave to appeal must be filed within 60 days of the judgment. Discouraging unnecessary adjournments, the rules make it clear that an adjournment will not be a right of any party, and costs may be imposed on a party, lawyer, or relevant legal representative for unjustified delays.
An appeal against an Election Commission decision under Article 63-A of the Constitution may be filed within 30 days, and the court has been given a target of deciding it within 90 days. According to the rules, each party will generally be given 10 minutes for oral arguments, while approximately 30 minutes will be allowed in cases involving important legal questions. Arguments beyond the prescribed time will not be permitted without the court's approval.