NA panel defers alternative dispute resolution amendment bill

The National Assembly Standing Committee on Law and Justice deferred an amendment bill on alternative dispute resolution after members raised concerns that the proposed legislation would transfer parliamentary authority to the federal government.

The committee meeting was chaired by Chaudhry Mahmood Bashir Virk and attended by lawmakers and senior officials of the Ministry of Law and Justice.

During consideration of the amendment bill, committee members questioned provisions that they said would give the government powers currently exercised by Parliament.

Alia Kamran opposed the proposed transfer of authority, saying lawmakers should not surrender their powers to the executive.

“Why should we hand over our authority to the government?” she asked.

Kamran said that once authority was transferred to the government, there would be limited opportunity for parliamentary scrutiny.

She cited the petroleum levy as an example, questioning whether the government was ever held accountable for imposing or increasing it.

“We will not allow our authority to be transferred to anyone else,” she said.

Kamran also criticised the government’s performance in providing speedy justice and said committee members were not being given sufficient time to carry out a final review of proposed legislation.

She said members strongly protested against what she described as the government’s approach towards parliamentary scrutiny of bills.

Law Ministry Secretary Raja Naeem Akbar defended the proposed legislation and said the ministry intended to seek approval of the bill.

He said a case would not be referred to an arbitration or alternative dispute resolution forum unless both parties agreed.

The secretary said the proposed mechanism was intended to facilitate settlements and reduce pressure on the regular court system.

Committee member Syed Hafeez said lawmakers were performing their parliamentary role, while the committee chairman said the law secretary was also carrying out his responsibilities.

Nafisa Shah asked the government to provide statistics showing how much the public had benefited from alternative dispute resolution courts.

She said the committee needed evidence on the number of cases settled, the time taken to resolve disputes and the effectiveness of the existing system before approving further amendments.

The committee directed the government to submit data on settlements reached through alternative dispute resolution forums.

Members said the information would help them assess whether the system had improved access to justice and reduced delays in the courts.

Following the discussion, the committee postponed further consideration of the amendment bill until the requested information was provided and members had more time to examine its provisions.