Senate passes bill plagiarised from Indian law without using mind

ISLAMABAD: In a unique but embarrassing case of plagiarism, the Senate of Pakistan has passed a bill which was copied from an Indian law in such a casual and reckless manner that it refers to “sections of law”, which are not even part of it.

How did the Upper House, which has no dearth of experienced minds, including constitutional and legal experts, let it happen? This is the question that raises doubts about the competence of the Senate and its secretariat.

Passed by the Upper House in January this year, “The Arbitration and Conciliation Bill 2016” is found to be the copy of the Indian Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 (Act 26 of 1996) with minor modifications.

The cut and paste of the Indian law has been done in such a causal and hilarious manner that the Senate-approved bill’s Section 34 in the “Explanation” gives reference of Section 75 and 81 whereas the bill contains only 47 sections.

The bill when presented in the Senate contained the names of Senators Raja Muhammad Zafarul Haq, Aitzaz Ahsan, Tahir Hussain Mashhadi, Hasil Khan Bizenjo, Saeed Ghani, Muhammad Talha Mehmood, Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, Muhammad Usman Khan Kakar, Dr Jehanzeb Jamaldini, Baz Muhammad Khan, Hidayatullah, Nauman Wazir Khattak, Sirajul Haq and Syed Muzafar Hussain Shah.

According to law ministry sources, this embarrassing plagiarism of Indian law caught the eyes of the ministry which noted that The Arbitration and Conciliation Bill 2016 by and large reproduces Sections 1-43, 82, 83, and 85 of the Indian Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 (Act 26 of 1996) with minor modification.

The Law Ministry informed the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs about this embarrassing bill passed by the Senate, and noted, “In section 34 in the Explanation reference has been made to section 75 or section 81 whereas the bill passed by the Senate contains only 47 clauses.”

The Law Ministry also pointed out another flaw in the bill. The ministry says that the bill seeks the repeal of the Arbitration Act 1940 whereas following the 18th Amendment, the subject of arbitration stands devolved to the provinces because the subject of arbitration was borne on entry 8 of the erstwhile Concurrent Legislative List of the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution.

The Law Ministry noted, “Parliament in view of the provisions of the paragraph (d) of Article 142 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan can legislate on arbitration only to the extent of the Islamabad Capital Territory and if considered expedient to repeal the Arbitration Act 1940 in its application to the Islamabad Capital Territory.”

Under the Rules of Business 1973, the ministry added, such bills are referred to the Law Ministry prior to their introduction in either House of Parliament. But in this particular case, it appears that the Bill was not referred to the Law Ministry for comments prior to the introduction in the Senate.