Pakistan’s National Assembly has passed a bill giving it the right to review judgments and orders passed by the Supreme Court. The bill, moved by lawmaker Shaza Fatima Khawaja, would enable formation of a larger bench than the original one for a review petition and grant the right to appoint a counsel of one’s choice among other things. Importantly, the new bill will have a retrospective effect and judgments or orders passed before the enactment of the bill can be reviewed, according to the mover of the legislation. Shaza told The Express Tribune that the bill, after becoming law, would enable the review of judgments passed in suo motu cases or other cases decided by the apex court, including the recent case about the Punjab polls.
