Islamabad December 15 2023: President of Pakistan Dr. Arif Alvi issued the Privatization Commission (Amendment) Ordinance 2023 to eliminate unnecessary delays in privatization process of State Owned Entities.
Section 28 to Section 33 of the Privatization Commission Ordinance 2000 has been amended by the Ordinance.
The purpose of the Ordinance is to eliminate unnecessary delays in privatization, resolve issues, ensure compliance with the principles of law and justice.
The purpose of the Ordinance is to establish a Privatization Appellate Tribunal.
The Privatization Appellate Tribunal shall have jurisdiction to hear and adjudicate civil and criminal matters relating to privatisation.
The powers given to the High Courts in the Privatization Commission Ordinance 2000 have now been transferred to the Privatization Appellate Tribunal.
Before the Ordinance, all High Courts of the country had concurrent jurisdiction over privatization cases.
Under the ordinance, the federal government will establish a three-member Privatization Appellate Tribunal.
The President passed the amending Ordinance proposed by the Government after sub-section 2 (four) of Section 28 was changed.
The President of the State has changed the proposed government ordinance to appoint a retired judge of the Supreme Court instead of a retired judge of the High Court as the Chairperson of the Appellate Tribunal. Under the Ordinance, a retired judge of the Supreme Court will be the Chairperson of the Privatization Tribunal. The Appellate Tribunal shall have one technical member and one judicial member
The Supreme Court of Pakistan will have jurisdiction to hear appeals against the decisions of the Appellate Tribunal.
Any person aggrieved by the decision of the Privatization Appellate Tribunal may file an appeal before the Supreme Court within 60 days. While, sections 30 and 33 of the Privatization Commission Ordinance 2000 are repealed. The President issued the Ordinance under Article 89-1 of the Constitution.
