Hello friends,

Can anyone tell us what is the procedure for amending the constitution of Pakistan in case there is a dispute or disagreement betweeen the two houses of parliament or if the house that has received the bill from the house where the bill originated doesnt approve of it and rejects it.
Article 239 which deals with the amendment procedure does not address the foregoing scenario.

Answer anyone!!!

answer anyone!!!!

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Why not !?

A Bill to amend the Constitution shall originate in the National Assembly. If the Bill is passed by the Senate with amendments, it shall be reconsidered by the National Assembly; and if the Bill as amended by the Senate is passed by the Assembly by the votes of not less than two-thirds of the total membership of the Assembly, it shall be presented to the President for assent. If the Bill is not passed by the Senate within ninety days from the day of its receipt the Bill shall be deemed to have been rejected by the Senate.

@marjah:
This procedure was laid out in the original constitution of 1973. Since then it has been significantly altered.
My question related to the present, existing post 18th-19th amendment constitution.
The Article 239 of the existing constitution doesnt answer my question.
can anyone??

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Why not !?

Article 239 has not been altered in 18th and 19th amendment bills, they are remain intact which last time modified in 1985. 1973 Constitution is functional in our country currently. Read the full text of article 239 which is currently in practice and part of 1973 constitution.


Article: 239 Constitution amendment Bill

1[239. Constitution amendment Bill.-(1) A Bill to amend the Constitution may originate in either House and, when the Bill has been passed by the votes of not less than two-thirds of the total membership of the House, it shall be transmitted to the other House.

(2) If the Bill is passed without amendment by the votes of not less than two-thirds of the total membership of the House to which it is transmitted under clause (1), it shall, subject to the provisions of clause (4), be presented to the President for assent.
(3) If the Bill is passed with amendment by the votes of not less than two-thirds of the total membership of the House to which it is transmitted under clause (1), it shall be reconsidered by the House in which it had or originated, and if the Bill as amended by the former House is passed by the latter by the votes of not less than two-thirds of its total membership it shall, subject to the provisions of clause (4), be presented to the President for assent.
(4) A Bill to amend the Constitution which would have the effect of altering the limits of a Province shall not be presented to the President for assent unless it has been passed by the Provincial Assembly of that Province by the votes of not less than two-thirds of its total membership.
(5) No amendment of the Constitution shall be called in question in any Court on any ground whatsoever.
(6) For the removal of doubt, it is hereby declared that there is no limitation whatever on the power of the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) to amend any of the provisions of the Constitution.]

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Footnotes:


1. Section 3 of the Constitution (Second Amendment) Order, 1985, P.O. No. 20 of 1985, substituted Art. 239, in its present form, (w.e.f. March 17, 1985), in place of the Art. as amended by item 48 of the schedule to P.O. No. 14 of 1985, (w.e.f. March 2, 1985). Art. 239 as first amended in 1985, read :
“239. Constitution Amendment Bill . — (1) A Bill to amend the Constitution may originate in either House and when the Bill has been passed by the votes of not less than two-thirds of the total membership of the House it shall be transmitted to the other House.
(2) If the Bill is passed without amendment by the votes of not less than two-thirds of the total membership of the House to which it is transmitted under Clause (1), it shall be transmitted to all the Provincial Assemblies.
(3) If the Bill is passed with amendment by the votes of not less than two-thirds of the total membership of the House to which it is transmitted under clause (1), it shall be reconsidered by the House in which it had originated; and if the Bill as amended by the former House is passed by the latter by the votes of not less than two-thirds of its total membership it shall be transmitted to all the Provincial Assemblies.
(4) Subject to clause (5), if the Bill transmitted to the Provincial Assemblies under clause (2) or clause (3) is passed by each such Assembly by a majority of the total number of its members present and voting, it shall be presented to the President for assent.
(5) A Bill to amend the Constitution which would have the effect of altering the limits of a Province shall not be presented to the President for assent unless it has been passed by the Provincial Assembly of that Province by the votes of not less than two-thirds of its total membership.
(6) No amendment of the Constitution shall be called in question in any Court on any ground whatsoever.
(7) For the removal of doubt, it is hereby declared that there is no limitation whatever on the power of the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) to amend by way of addition, modification or repeal any of the provisions of the Constitution.”
Article 239 as adopted in 1973 read :
“239. Constitution amendment Bill.–(1) A Bill to amend the Constitution shall originate in the National Assembly and when the Bill has been passed by the votes of not less than two-thirds of the total membership of the Assembly it shall be transmitted to the Senate.
(2) If the Bill is passed by the Senate by a majority of the total membership of the Senate it shall be presented to the President for assent.
(3) If the Bill is passed by the Senate with amendments, it shall be reconsidered by the National Assembly; and if the Bill as amended by the Senate is passed by the Assembly by the votes of not less than two-thirds of the total membership of the Assembly, it shall be presented to the President for assent.
(4) If the Bill is not passed by the Senate within ninety days from the day of its receipt the Bill shall be deemed to have been rejected by the Senate.
(5) The President shall assent to the Bill within seven days of the presentation of the Bill to him, and if he fails to do so he shall be deemed to have assented thereto at the expiration of that period.
(6) When the President has assented to or is deemed to have assented to the Bill, the Bill shall become Act of Parliament and the Constitution shall stand amended in accordance with the terms thereof.
(7) A Bill to amend the Constitution which would have the effect of altering the limits of a
Province shall not be passed by the National Assembly unless it has been approved by a resolution of the Provincial Assembly of that Province passed by the votes of not less than two-thirds of the total membership of that Assembly.”

@ marjah

thanks for tht.

But!

Although u r ryt when u say that this article 239 was amended in 1985 by Zia as illustrated in the footnotes above, what i am looking for ,in the present constitution, is any provision like the one below:

"If the Bill is not passed by the Senate within ninety days from the day of its receipt the Bill shall be deemed to have been rejected by the Senate"

where can i find such provision or any provision which deals with this scenario where the senate(or other house) rejects the amendment bill.

kindly enlighten

thanks for patience

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Why not !?

When senate is not willing to pass any bill then it will not pass bill in ninety days so ultimately it is rejected by senate otherwise Senate will send the bill back to parliament with modifications and changes. You can consult books of Const. Law and hopefully find a satisfactory answer.

What do you mean by present Constitution? Our present Constitution is that one which was made in 1973 by the Constituent Assembly, later held and abeyance by Gen. Zia and then by Gen. Pervez Musharaf, the present govt. purified it from amendments through 18th amendment bill, which were made by dictators and shifted the genuine powers of Prime Minister from President.

Yes our present constitution is the one that was drafted and enacted in 1973 but it is not exactly like the 1973 constitution.
As you pointed out, over the period of time military dictators namely zia and musharaf held it in abeyance and changed it at their sweet will with mere presidential orders and PCOs later validated by 8th and 17th amendments.
Although 18th amendment went a long way in purging the constitution of these impurities, yet the present constitution is not exactly like the original 1973 constitution. 18th amendment did not revert completely back to 1973. Thus, while some changes made by zia and musharraf have been done away with, many articles and clauses still remain intact in the constitution as amended and inserted by the two military regimes.
Some examples would suffice:
-Zia changed the nomenclature and introduced the word majlis-e-shoora in place of parliament. 18th amendment doesnt touch that.
-zia made objective resolution a substantive part of the constitution by inserting article 2A----This remains unchanged
-Musharraf increased number of seats in national assembly and senate and kept permanent and increased number of reserved seats in parliament for women.----This change remains intact too.(and rightly so)
Similarly 18th amendment did not touch article 239. Thus Article 239 in the constitution today is the one that was introduced by Section 3 of the Constitution (Second Amendment) Order, 1985, P.O. No. 20 of 1985 (w.e.f. March 17, 1985)
and it(article 239) says and u have quoted above:

Article: 239 Constitution amendment Bill

[239. Constitution amendment Bill.-(1) A Bill to amend the Constitution may originate in either House and, when the Bill has been passed by the votes of not less than two-thirds of the total membership of the House, it shall be transmitted to the other House.

(2) If the Bill is passed without amendment by the votes of not less than two-thirds of the total membership of the House to which it is transmitted under clause (1), it shall, subject to the provisions of clause (4), be presented to the President for assent.
(3) If the Bill is passed with amendment by the votes of not less than two-thirds of the total membership of the House to which it is transmitted under clause (1), it shall be reconsidered by the House in which it had or originated, and if the Bill as amended by the former House is passed by the latter by the votes of not less than two-thirds of its total membership it shall, subject to the provisions of clause (4), be presented to the President for assent.
(4) A Bill to amend the Constitution which would have the effect of altering the limits of a Province shall not be presented to the President for assent unless it has been passed by the Provincial Assembly of that Province by the votes of not less than two-thirds of its total membership.
(5) No amendment of the Constitution shall be called in question in any Court on any ground whatsoever.
(6) For the removal of doubt, it is hereby declared that there is no limitation whatever on the power of the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) to amend any of the provisions of the Constitution.]

so where in the above mentioned article(239) is the case of disagreement between the two houses and where is the rejection of the bill discussed??

The provision of 90 days, where is it???

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Why not !?

still looking for the answer

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Why not !?