Part 5: Provisions applicable generally

Part 5: Provisions applicable generally to the Centre and the Provinces

Chapter 1. The Central and Provincial Legislatures
Chapter 2. The Central and Provincial Governments
Chapter 3. The Central and Ptovincial Judicatures

Chapter 1. The Central and Provincial Legislatures

Article 103

(1) Except as provided in this Article, a person is qualified to be elected as, and to be, a member of an Assembly if-

Article (a) his name appears-

(i) in the case of the National Assembly-on the electoral roll for any electoral unit; or

(ii) in the case of the Assembly of a Province-on the electoral roll for an electoral unit in the Province; and

(b) he is not less than twenty-five years of age.

(2) A person is disqualified from being elected as, and from being, a member of an Assembly if-

(a) he holds an office of profit in the service of Pakistan;

(b) he is an undischarged insolvent;

(c) he has, within the previous period of five years, been convicted of an offence by any Court and sentenced to transportation or to imprisonment for not less than two years or been sentenced to death and that sentence has been commuted to transportation or imprisonment;

(d) he has ceased to be a citizen or has affirmed allegiance to a foreign State; or

(e) he is otherwise disqualified from being a member of that that Assembly by this Constitution or by or under any law.

(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) of clause (2) of this Article, the President, a Governor or a Minister is qualified to be elected as a member of Assembly, but if he is so elected, he is not qualified to be a member of the Assembly until he ceases to hold offices as President, Governor or Minister.

Article 104

(1) if a member of an Assembly is elected as President, or appointed as a Governor or Minister or to any other office of profit in the service of Pakistan, he shall cease to be a member of the Assembly on the day of which he enters his office.

(2) If any question arises whether a member of an Assembly has, after his election, become disqualified from being a member of the Assembly the Speaker of the Assembly shall refer the question to the Chief Election Commissioner and, if the Chief Election Commissioner is of the opinion that the member has become disqualified, the member shall case to be a member.

(3) If any person sits or votes in an Assembly knowing that he is not qualified to be, or is disqualified from being, a member of the Assembly, he shall be liable in respect of every day on which he so sits or votes to a penalty of five hundred rupees, which may be recovered from him as a debt due-

(a) in the case of the National Assembly-to the Central Government; or

(b) in the case of the Assembly of a Province-to the Government of the Province.

Article 105

(1) A person shall not, at the same time, be a candidate for election to more than one seat in an Assembly, or to a seat in one Assembly and to a seat in another Assembly.

(2) A member of an Assembly shall not be a candidate for a seat in that Assembly except at a general election of the members of that Assembly.

(3) If a member of an Assembly is elected to a seat in another Assembly his seat in that first-mentioned Assembly shall become vacant.

Article 106

(1) A person elected as a member of an Assembly shall not take his seat in the Assembly until he makes before such person as is prescribed by rules of the Assembly an oath in such form set out in the First Schedule as is applicable to a member of the Assembly.

(2) The oath may be made at any time, whether or not the Assembly is in session.

Article 107

The seat of a member of an Assembly shall become vacant if -

(a) he resigns his seat by notice in writing under his hand addressed to the Speaker of the Assembly;

(b) he is absent from the Assembly without the leave of the Assembly for thirty consecutive sitting days of the Assembly;

(c) he fails to make the oath referred to in Article 106 within a ' period of ninety days after the date of his election, unless the Speaker of the Assembly for good cause shown extends the period; or

(d) he ceases to be a member of the Assembly under any provision of this Constitution or under any law.

Article 108

(1) After a general election of the members of an Assembly, the Assembly shall, before proceeding to the despatch of any other business-

(a) choose a member to be the Speaker of the Assembly; and

(6) choose two other members to be Deputy Speakers of the Assembly, specifying which is the senior of the two.

(2) So often as the office of the Speaker, or of a Deputy Speaker, of an Assembly become vacant, the Assembly shall again choose a member to fill the office.

(3) When the office of the senior of the Deputy Speakers becomes vacant, the other Deputy Speaker shall become the senior of the Deputy Speakers.

(4) Before he enters upon his office, a person chosen as the Speaker, or a Deputy Speaker, of an Assembly shall make before such person as is prescribed by rules of the Assembly an oath in such form set out in the First Schedule as is applicable to his office.

(5) At any time when the office of Speaker of an Assembly is vacant, or the Speaker of an Assembly is absent or is unable to perform the functions of his office due to illness or some other cause, or (in the case of the National Assembly) is acting as President, the senior of the Deputy Speakers of the Assembly shall act as Speaker, except that, if at that time, the senior of the Deputy Speakers is absent or is unable to act as Speaker due to illness or some other cause, or (in the case of the National Assembly) is acting as President, the other Deputy Speaker shall act as Speaker.

(6) The Speaker of an Assembly may resign his office by writing under his hand addressed-

(a) in the case of the National Assembly-to the President; or

(b) in the case of the Assembly of a Province-to the Governor of the Province.

(7) A Deputy Speaker of an Assembly may resign his office by writing under his hand addressed to the Speaker of the Assembly.

(8) The office of Speaker, or of a Deputy Speaker, of an Assembly shall become vacant if-

(a) except as provided in clause (9) of this article, he ceases to be a member of the Assembly ; or

(b) he is removed from office by a resolution of the Assembly (of which not less than fourteen days notice has been given) passed by a majority of the total number of members of the Assembly.

(9) Where an Assembly stands dissolved (whether by expiration of its term or other wise), a person holding office as Speaker, or a Deputy Speaker, of the Assembly immediately before the dissolution shall continue to hold office until the person chosen to fill the office by the next Assembly has entered upon his office.

Article 109

There shall be at least two sessions of an Assembly in every period of three hundred and sixty-five days, and not more than one hundred and eighty days shall intervene between the last sitting of an Assembly in one session and its first sitting in the next session.

Article 110

(1) Subject to this Constitution-

(a) the procedure of an Assembly shall be regulated by rules of procedure made by the Assembly;

(b) a decision in an Assembly shall be taken by a majority of the votes of the members present and voting, but the person presiding shall not vote except when there is an equality of votes, in which case he shall exercise a casting vote;

(c) an Assembly may act notwithstanding any vacancy in its membership; and

(d) no proceeding in an Assembly shall be invalid by reason only that a person who was not entitled to do so was present at or voted or otherwise participated in the proceedings.

(2) If, at any time during a meeting of an Assembly, the attention of person presiding at the meeting is drawn to the fact that less than forty members are present, it shall be the duty of the person presiding either to adjourn the meeting, or to suspend the meeting until forty members are present.

Article 111

(1) The validity of any proceedings in an Assembly shall not be questioned in any Court.

(2) An officer or member of an Assembly in whom powers are vested for the regulation of procedure, the conduct of business or the maintenance Assembly shall not, in relation to the exercise by him of any of those powers, be subject to the jurisdiction of any Court.

(3) A member of, or a person entitled to speak in, an Assembly shall not be liable to any proceedings in any Court in respect of anything said by him, or any vote given by him, in the Assembly or in any committee of the Assembly.

(4) A person shall not be liable to any proceedings in any Court in respect of the publication by or under the authority of an Assembly of any report, paper, vote or proceedings.

(5) No process issued by a Court or other authority shall, except with the leave of the Speaker of the Assembly, be served or executed within the precincts of the place where a meeting of an Assembly is being held.

(6) Subject to this Article, the privileges of an Assembly, of the committees and members of an Assembly and of the persons entitled to speak in an Assembly may be determined by law.

Article 112

The Speaker of an Assembly shall make such arrangements as are necessary to ensure that the members of the Assembly understand the function of the Assembly as an organ of the State and of their own responsibilities as members.

Article 113

(1) Each Assembly shall make rules regulating the conduct of members of the Assembly in their capacity as members.

(2) Where the Speaker of an Assembly is satisfied that a member of the Assembly has committed a breach of the rules in such a way as to have been guilty of gross misconduct, he shall refer the matter for inquiry-

(a) in the case of the National Assembly-to the Supreme Court;

or

(b) in the case of a" Provincial Assembly-to the High Court of the Province concerned.

(3) If, after inquiry, the Court is satisfied that the member has been guilty of gross misconduct, it shall make a declaration to that effect and, upon the making of the declaration, the member shall cease to be a member of the Assembly.

Article 114

(1) Where, under any provision of this Constitution, the previous consent or recommendation of the President or of a Governor is required to the introduction of a Bill or the moving of an amendment, the giving of the consent or the making of the recommendation shall not preclude him from withholding his assent to the Bill or returning the Bill for reconsideration.

(2) No Act of the Central Legislature or of a Provincial Legislature, and no provision in any such Act, shall be invalid by reason only that some previous consent or recommendation required by this Constitution was not given or made if that Act was assented to in accordance with this Constitution.

Chapter 2. The Central and Provincial Governments

Article 115

(1) Neither the President, a Governor nor a Minister shall-

(a) hold any other office of profit in the service of Pakistan; or

(b) occupy any other position carrying the right to remuneration for the rendering of services,

but this Article shall not be construed as preventing the President, a Governor or a Minister from holding or managing his private property.

(2) Clause (1) of this Article does not apply to a person acting as a Governor.

Article 116

(1) No criminal proceedings whatsoever shall be instituted or continued against the President or a Governor while he is in office.

(2) No civil proceedings in which relief is claimed against the President or a Governor shall be instituted while he is in office in respect of anything done or not done, or purporting to have been done or not done, by him in his personal capacity, whether before or after he entered upon his office, unless, at least sixty days before the proceedings are instituted, notice in ting has been delivered to him, or sent to him in the manner prescribed by law, stating the nature of the proceedings, the cause of action, the name, description and place of residence of the party by whom the proceedings are to be instituted and the relief which he claims.

(3) Except in relation to proceedings referred to in clause (2) of this Article, no process whatsoever shall issue from any Court or tribunal against the President or a Governor, whether in a personal capacity or otherwise, while he is in office.

Article 117

(1) Subject to this Constitution, neither the President nor a Governor nor a Minister shall, except in respect of anything done or not done by him in contravention of the law, be answerable to any Court or tribunal for the exercise of the powers, or the performance of the duties, of his office, act any or for done or purporting to be done by him in not answerable for the exercise of those powers or in the performance of those duties.

(2) Clause (1) of this Article shall not be construed as restricting the right of any person to bring appropriate proceedings against the Central Government or a Provincial Government.

Article 118

(1) A Governor, a Minister or Parliamentary Secretary appointed by a President, or the Attorney-General, shall hold office during the pleasure of the President, and may be removed from office at any time by the President without any reason being assigned for his removal.

(2) A Governor, or a Minister or Parliamentary Secretary appointed by a President, or the Attorney-General, may resign his office by writing under his hand addressed to the President.

(3) A Governor, or a Minister or Parliamentary Secretary appointed by a President, shall cease to hold office upon the successor to that President entering upon his office.

(4) A Parliamentary Secretary appointed by a President shall cease to hold office if he ceases to be a member of the National Assembly.

(5) A Governor, a Minister or Parliamentary Secretary appointed by a President, and the Attorney-General, shall hold office on such terms and conditions as the President may determine.

Article 119

(1) A Minister or Parliamentary Secretary appointed by the Governor of a Province, and the Advocate-General for a Province, shall hold office during the pleasure of the Governor of the Province, and, subject to clause (2) of this Article, may be removed from office at any time by the Governor without any reason being assigned for his removal.

(2) A Governor shall not remove a Minister from office without the concurrence of the President.

(3) A Minister or Parliamentary Secretary appointed by the Governor of a Province, or the Advocate-General for a Province, may resign his office by writing under his hand addressed to the Governor of the Province.

(4) A Minister or Parliamentary Secretary appointed by a Governor shall cease to hold office upon the successor to that Governor entering upon his office.

(5) A Parliamentary Secretary appointed by a Governor shall cease to hold office if he ceases to be a member of the Assembly of the Province concerned.

(6) A Minister or Parliamentary Secretary appointed by the Governor of a Province, and the Advocate-General for a Province, shall hold office on such terms and conditions as the Governor of the Province, with the concurrence of the President, may determine.

Article 120

The appointment or removal of a person as a Parliamentary Secretary, the payment of remuneration to a person as a Parliamentary Secretary or the performance by a person of any functions as a parliamentary Secretary shall not in any way prejudice or affect his status, position or rights-

(a) in the case of a Parliamentary Secretary appointed by the President-as a Member of the National Assembly; or

(b) in the case of a Parliamentary Secretary appointed by the Governor of a Province-as a member of the Assembly of that Province.

Article 121

(1) If, in the opinion of the President, a Governor or a Minister appointed by the President has been guilty of such gross misconduct in relation to his duties that he should be disqualified from holding public office, the President may, in addition to removing him from office, inform him, in writing, that he has the option of agreeing to disqualification from holding public office for such period, not exceeding five years, as is fixed by the President or of having the matter referred to a Tribunal for inquiry.

(2) If, within seven days after he is so informed, the Governor or Minister, by writing addressed to the President, agrees to the disqualification he shall be disqualified from holding public office for the period fixed by the President.

(3) If the Governor or Minister does not agree to the disqualification, the President shall forthwith refer the matter for inquiry to a Tribunal consisting of a Judge of the Supreme Court appointed by the President after consultation with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

(4) The Tribunal shall inquire into the matter in such manner as is prescribed by law (or, if no manner is prescribed by law, in such manner as it thinks proper) and, if the Tribunal finds that the Governor or Minister has been guilty of gross misconduct in relation to his duties, his removal from office as Governor or Minister shall be regarded as dismissal from office and he shall be disqualified from holding public office for a period of five years from the date on which the President took action in relation to him under this Article.

Article 122

The Governor of a Province shall have power to take such action in relation to a Minister appointed by him as the President may take under Article 121 in relation to a Minister appointed by the President, and the provisions of that Article shall apply accordingly but so that-

(a) any reference in those provisions to the President shall be read to the Governor;

(b) any reference in those provisions to a Minister appointed by the President shall be read as reference to a Ministr appointed by the Governor ; and

(c) any reference in those provisions to the Supreme Court shall be read as reference to the High Court of the Province concerned.

Chapter 3. The Central and Ptovincial Judicatures

Article 123

(1) In this Article, "Court" means the Supreme Court or a High Court

(2) A Court shall have power to punish any person who-

(a) abuses, interferes with or obstructs the process of the Court in any way or disobeys any order of the Court;

(6) scandalizes the Court or otherwise does anything which tends to bring the Court or a Judge of the Court into hatred, ridicule or contempt,;

(c) does anything which tends to prejudice the determination of a matter pending before the Court; or

{d) does any other thing which, by law, constitutes contempt of the Court.

(3) The exercise of the power conferred on a Court by this Article may be regulated by law and, subject to law, by rules made by the Court.

Article 124

The remuneration and other terms and conditions of service of a Judge of the Supreme Court or of a High Court shall be as provided in the Second Schedule.

Article 125

A Judge of the Supreme Court or of a High Court may resign his office by writing under his hand addressed to the President.

Article 126

(1) A Judge of the Supreme Court or of a High Court shall not-

(a) hold any other office of profit in the service of Pakistan; or

(b) occupy any other position carrying the right to remuneration for the rendering of services,

but this clause shall not be construed as preventing a Judge from holding or managing his private property.

(2) A person who has held office as a Judge of the Supreme Court or of a High Court shall not hold any office of profit in the service of Pakistan before the expiration of two years after he ceased to hold that office.

Article 127

(1) In this Article, "Court" means the Supreme Court or a High Court.

(2) A Court may (with the approval of the President in the case of the Supreme Court, and of the Governor in the case of a High Court) make Rules providing for the appointment by the Court of officers and servants of the Court, and for their terms and conditions of employment.

Article 128

(1) There shall be a Supreme Judicial Council of Pakistan, in this Article referred to as "the Council".

(2) The Council shall consist of-

(a) the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court;

(b) the two next most senior Judges of the Supreme Court; and

(c) the Chief Justice of each High Court.

(3) If, at any time, the Council is inquiring into the capacity or conduct of a Judge who is a member of the Council, or a member of the Council is absent or is unable to act as a member of the Council due to illness or some other cause, the Judge of the Supreme Court who is next in seniority below the Judges referred to in paragraph (6) of clause (2) of this Article shall act as a member of the Council in his place.

(4) The Council shall issue a code of conduct to be observed by Judges of the Supreme Court and of the High Courts.

(5) If, on information received from the Council or from any other source, the President is of the opinion that a Judge of the Supreme Court or a High Court-

(a) may be incapable of properly performing the duties of his office by reason of physical or metal incapacity; or

(b) may have been guilty of gross misconduct, the President shall direct the Council to inquire into the matter.

(6) If, after inquiring into the matter, the Council reports to the President that it is of the opinion-

(a) that the Judge is incapable of performing the duties of his office or has been guilty of gross misconduct; and

(b) that he should be removed from office, the President may remove the Judge from office.

(7) A Judge of the Supreme Court or of a High Court shall not be removed from office except as provided by this Article.

Article 129

(1) There shall, in addition to the Supreme Court and the High Courts, be such other Courts as are established by law.

(2) A Court so established shall have such jurisdiction as is conferred on it by law.

Article 130

No Court shall have any jurisdiction that is not conferred on it by this Constitution or by or under the law.

Source: Documents and Speeches on the Constitution of Pakistan
By G. W. Choudhury (1967). Green Book House, Dacca (East Pakistan)

Search the Republic of Rumi