humanrights_act2008_171208 v9

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[TO BE INTRODUCED IN THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY]

A

BILL

WHEREAS it is expedient to set up National Commission for Human Rights for

protection and promotion of human rights and for matters connected therewith or~

incidental thereto;

It is hereby enacted as follows :-

CHAPTER-I

1. Short title, extent and commencement.- (1) This Act may be called the National

Commission for Human Rights Act, 2008.

(2) It extends to the whole of Pakistan.

(3) It shall come into force at once.

2. Definitions.- In this Act, unlessc

there is anything repugnant in the subject or

context,-

(a) "Chairperson" means the Chairperson of the Commission;

(b) "Commission" means National Commission for Human Rights constituted

under section 3;

(c) "Human Rights" means the rights relating to life, liberty, dignity of the

individual guaranteed by the Constitution and the Human Rights included

in the International Instruments which Government of Pakistan has

ratified;

(d) "Member" means a member of the Commission and includes Chairperson;

and


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CHAPTER-II

THE NATIONAL COMMISSSION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

3. Constitution of National Commission for Human Rights.- (1) The Federal

Government shall constitute a Commission to be known as the National Commission for

Human Rights to exercise the powers conferred upon, and to perform the functions

assigned to it, under this Act.

(i) The Chairperson who has been a Judge of the High Court or

Supreme Court preferably having knowledge and background of

Human Rights;

(ii) Four members from minorities; one from each province having

knowledge and background of Human Rights;

(iii) Four women members; one from each province having knowledge

and background of Human Rights;

(iv) One member from Islamabad Capital Territory; and

(v) Secretary, Human Rights Division.

(4) The headquarters of the Commission shall be at Islamabad and Offices

shall be set up at all Provincial Headquarters and, in any other part of the country

as the Commission may determine.

(5) The quorum for the meeting of the Commission shall not be less than

one-fourth of the t~ta1 strength and the Chairperson shall have the power of

casting vote.


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(6) The Commission shall be a body corporate having perpetual succession

and a common seal with powers, among other, to acquire, hold and dispose of any

property and shall by the said name sue and be sued.

4. Appointment of Chairperson and other members.- (1) The President on the

advice of the Prime Minister shall appoint Chairperson and the members of the

Commission.

(2) Constitution of the Commission shall not be invalid merely by reason of

any vacancy or defect in the constitution of the Commission.

5. Removal of a member of the Commission.- The President on advice of the

Prime Minster may remove Chairperson from the office or any other member if the

Chairperson or such other member, as the case may be-

(a) is guilty of misconduct;

(b) is adjudged an insolvent;

(c) is unfit to continue in office by reason of infirmity of mind or

body; or

(d) is convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for an offence which

involves moral turpitude.

6. Term of office of members.- (1) A person appointed as Chairperson or a

member shall hold office for a term of three years from the date on which he enters upon

his office or until he attains the age of seventy years, whichever is earlier.

(2) The Chairperson or a member may resign his office in writing under his hand

addressed to the President.

7. Acting Chairperson.- At any time when the Chairperson is absent or unable to

perform functions of his office due to any other cause, or in the event of the OCCl,lITence -

of any vacancy in the office of the Chairperson by reason of his death, resignation or I....-

otherwise, the President on advice of the Prime Minister shall appoint a person from

amongst the members of the Commission to a9t as Chairperson until the Chairperson


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resumes his office, or as the case may be, until the appointment of a new Chairperson to

fill such vacancy.

8. Terms and conditions of service of members.- The salaries and allowances

payable to, and other terms and conditions of service of the members, other than

ex-officio member, shall be-such as may be prescribed by the Federal Government:

Provided that neither the salary and allowances nor the other terms and conditions

of service of a member shall be varied to his/her disadvantage after his/her appointment.

9. Procedure to be regulated by the Commission.-(l) The Commission shall meet

at such time and place as the Chairperson may deem fit.

(2) . The Commission shall regulate its own procedure.

(3) All orders and decisions of the Commission shall be authenticated by the

Secretary or any other officer of the Commission duly authorized by the

Chairperson in this behalf.

10. Officers and other staff of theCommission.- (1) The Commission, in

consultation with the Federal Government, shall appoint:

(a) a serving or a retired government employee, who has been of the status of the

Secretary or an Additional Secretary or an equivalent, to the Government of

Pakistan, who has experience and background of working in the field of

Human Rights or a private person who has rich knowledge and experience on

human rights, as Secretary of the Commission who shall also be the Principal

Accounting Officer; and

(b) such other Officers, and Staff against sanctioned posts and as per

prescribed procedure.

(2) Without prejudice to the provision of sub-section(l), the Commission, may

seek assistance of any agency, police officer or any other official, organization of


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the Government if such services are required by the Commission for the purpose

of discharging its functions:

Provided that the civil servants shall, upon their transfer to the

Commission, continue to be governed by the Civil Servants Act, 1973 (LXXI of 1973),

except those who may opt otherwise.

(3) The salaries, allowances and conditions of service of the officers and other

staff appointed under this section shall be such as may be prescribed:

Provided that the Civil Servants appointed to or working in the Human

Rights Division shall upon their transfer to the Commission continue to be governed by

Civil Servants Act, 1973:

Provided further that officers and staff of Human Rights Division shall be

given right to exercise option for such appointments within a period of three months of

the promulgation of this Act.

CHAPTER-III

FUNCTIONS AND POWERS OF THE COMMISSION

11. Functions of the Commission.- (1) The Commission shall perform all or any of

the following functions, namely:-

(a) inquire into, suo-moto or on a petition submitted by a victim or any person

on his behalf into complaint of violation of human rights;

(b) intervene in any proceeding involving any allegation of violation of

human rights pending before a court with the approval of such court;

(c) visit any jail, under intimation to the Provincial Government, where -

persons are lodged for purposes of treatment, reformation or protection, to '--

examine the living conditions of the inmates and make report thereon;


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(d) review the laws, including laws of terrorism which inhibit the enjoyment

of human rights, and to recommend appropriate remedial measures;

(e) review the safeguards provided by or under the Constitution or any law for

the time being in force for the protection of human rights and recommend

adoption of new legislation, the amendment of the existing laws and the

adoption or amendment of administrative measures for their effective

implementation;

(f) study treaties and other International Covenants and Instruments on

human rights which have been ratified by the Government of Pakistan and

make recommendations for their effective implementation;

(g) recommend ratification of International Human Rights Instruments or

accession to those instruments, and make efforts for their implementation;

(h) assist in the formation of programmers for teaching of, and research into,

human rights and to take part in their execution in educational and

professional institutions;

(i) spread human rights literacy among various sections of society and

promote awareness of the safeguards available or the protection of these

rights through print and electronic media, seminars and other available

(j) encourage and facilitate the efforts of such governmental and non-

governmental organizations and institutions working in the field of human

rights which comply with the rules made under this Act and the

instructions issued by the Commission or the Federal Government in this

behalf;

(k) contribute to the reports which Pakistan is required to submit to the United

Nations bodies and committees pursuant to its treaty obligations, and

where necessary, may express an opinion on the subject, with due respect

for their independence;

(1) refer and recommend investigation and inquiries in respect of any incident

of violation of human rights;

(m) pursuing or defending Issues, complaints, representations and matters for

and against Pakistan relating to human rights before any Governmental or

non-Governmental organization, body or forum in Pakistan and, in


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consultation with Foreign Affairs Division, before any international

organization and foreign Government or non-Governmental organization;

and

(n) such other functions as it may consider necessary for prevention of human

rights violations and for promotion of human rights including follow-ups

of its recommendations.

(2) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Commission shall have administrative

and financial autonomy in the discharge of its functions under this Act.

(3) For the purpose of investigation into any matter pertaining to the inquiry, any

officer or agency whose services are utilized under sub-section (1) may, subject to the

direction and control of the Commission,-

(a) summon and enforce the attendance of any person and examine him;

(b) require the discovery and production of any document; and

(c) requisition any public record or copy thereof from any office.

(4) The provision of this section shall apply in relation to any statement made

by a person before any officer or agency whose services are utilized under sub-section

(1) as they apply in relation to any statement made by a person in the course of giving

evidence before the Commission.

(5) The officer or agency whose services are utilized under sub-section (I)

shall investigate into any matter pertaining to the inquiry and submit a report thereon to

the commission within such period as may be specified by the Commission in this behalf.

(6) The Commission shall satisfy itself about the correctness of the facts

stated and the conclusion, if any, arrived at in the report submitted to it under sub-section

(5) and for this purpose the Commission may make such inquiry (including the

examination of the person or persons who conducted or assisted in the investigation) as it

thinks fit.


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12. Statement made by persons to the Commission.- No statement made by a

person in the course of giving evidence before the Commission shall subject him to, or be

used against him in, any civil or criminal proceeding except for prosecution for giving

false evidence by such statement:

13. Persons likely to be prejudicially affected to be heard.- If at any stage of the

inquiry, the Commission,-

(a) considers it necessary to inquire into the conduct of any person; or

(b) is of the opinion that the reputation of any person is likely to be

prejudicially affected by the inquiry, it shall give to that person a

reasonable opportunity of being heard in the inquiry and to produce

evidence in his defence:

Provided that nothing in this section shall apply where the credit of a

witness is being impeached.

14. Independence of the Commission.- (1) The Commission and every member

of its staff shall function without political or other bias or interference and shall, unless

this Act expressly otherwise provides, be independent and separate from any government,administration, or any other functionary or body directly or indirectly representing the

interests of any such entity.


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(2) If at any stage during the course of proceedings at any meeting of the

Commission it appears that a member has or may have a financial or personal interest

which may cause a substantial conflict of interests in the performance of his functions as

such, the member shall forthwith and fully disclose the nature of his interest and absent

himself from that meeting so as to enable the remaining members to decide whether the

member should be precluded from participating in the meeting by reason of that interest.

. Such a disclosure and the decision taken by the remaining members shall be entered on

the record of the proceedings.

(3) If a member fails to disclose any conflict of interest as required by sub-

section (2) and is present at a meeting of the Commission or in any manner participates in

the proceedings, such proceedings in relation to the relevant matter shall, as soon as such

non-disclosure is discovered, be reviewed and be varied or set aside by the Commission

without the participation of the member concerned and such conduct on the part of the

member shall be treated as misconduct.

(4) Notwithstanding any personal opinion, preference or party affiliation, the

member shall serve impartially and independently and perform his duties in, good faith

and without fear, favour, bias or prejudice.

by his membership of the Commission, association, statement,

conduct or in any other manner jeopardize his independence or in

any other manner harm the credibility, impartiality or integrity of

the Commission;

make private use of or profit from any confidential information

gained as a result of his membership of the Commission, or

divulge any such information to any other person except in the

course of the performance of his functions as such a member of the

Commission.


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') (6) Violation of clause (b) and clause (c) of sub-section (5) shall be treated as

misconduct on the part of a member.

CHAPTER-V

PROCEDURE AND POWER OF INQUIRY

15. Power relating to inquiries- (1) The Commission shall, while inquiring into

complaints under this Act, have all the powers of a civil court trying a suit under the

Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (Act V of 1908) and in particular in respect of the

following matters, namely:-

(a) summoning and enforcing the attendance of witnesses and

examining them on oath;(b) discovery and production of any documents;

(c) receiving evidence on affidavits;

(d) requisitioning any public record or copy thereof from any

court or office;

(e) issuing commissions for the examination of witness or

documents, and any other matter which may be prescribed.

(2) The commission shall have power to require any person, subject to any

privilege which may be claimed by that person under any law for the time being in force,,

to furnish information on such points or matters as, in the opinion of the Commission,

may be useful for, or relevant to the subject matter of inquiry and any person so required

shall be deemed to be legally bound to furnish such information within the meaning of

section 176 and section 177 of the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860 (XLV of 1860).

(3) The Commission shall be deemed to be a civil court for the purposes of

this sub-section and when any offence as is described in section 175, section 178, section

179, section 180 or section 228 of the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860(XLV of 1860) is

committed in the view or presence of the Commission, the Commission may, after

recording the facts constituting the offence and the statement of the accused as provided

for the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, forward the case to a Magistrate having


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') jurisdiction to try the same and the Magistrate to whom any such case is forwarded shalll

proceed to hear the complaint against the accused as if the case has been forwarded to

him under section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (V of 1898).

(4) The Commission may, for the purpose of conducting any inquiry, seek

assistance of any person , Authority or Department of the Provincial or the Federal

Government

(5) The Person, Authority or the Department whose services are sought

under sub-section (4) shall inquire into the matter and submit a report thereon to the

Commission within such period as may be specified by the Commission in this behalf.

16. Inquiry into complaints.- The Commission while, inquiring into the complaints

of violation of human rights may,-

(i) call for detail information and comprehensive report from the Government or any

other authority or organization subordinate thereto within such time as may be

specified by it;

(a) if the information or report is not received within the time

stipulated by the Commission, it may proceed to inquire into the

complaint on its own; or

(b) if, on receipt of information or report, the Commission is' satisfied

either that no further inquiry is required or that the required action

has been initiated or taken by the Government or authority, it may

not proceed with the complaint and inform the complainant

accordingly; or

(ii) without prejudice to anything contained in clause (i), if considers it necessary,

having regard to the nature of the complaint, initiate any inquiry.

17. Steps after inqiliry.- The Commission may take any of the following steps

upon the completion of any inquiry held under this Act, namely:-


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(i) where the inquiry discloses, the commission of violation of human rights

or negligence in the prevention of human rights by a public servant, it may

recommend to the Government or Authority the initiation of proceedings

for prosecution or such other action, as the Commission may deem fit,

against the concerned person or persons;

(ii) approach the concerned Court for such directions, orders or writs as that

the Commission may deem necessary;

(iii) recommend to the Government or Authority for the grant of such

immediate interim relief to the victim or the members of his family as the

Commission may consider necessary;

(v) the Commission shall send a copy of its inquiry report together with its

recommendations to the Government or Authority and the Government or

Authority shall, within a period of one month, or such further time as the

Commission may allow, forward its comments on the report, including the

action taken or proposed to be taken thereon, by the Commission; and

(vi) the Commission shall publish its inquiry report together with the

comments of the Government or Authority, if any, and the action taken or

proposed to be taken by the Government or Authority on the

recommendations of the Commission.

18. Annual and special report of the Commission.- (1) The Commission shall

submit an annual report to the Federal Government and may at any time submit special

reports on any matter which, in its, opinion, is of such urgency or importance that it

should not be deferred till submission of the annual report.


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(2) The Federal Government shall cause the annual and special report of the

Commission to be laid before the Parliament along with a memorandum of action taken

or proposed to be taken on the recommendations of the commission and the reasons for

non-acceptance of the recommendations, if any. The report shall be laid before the

Parliament within ninety days from the date of its submission.

CHAPTER-VI

FINANCE, ACCOUNTS ANDAUDIT

19. Donations or contributions.- (1) The Federal Government may, in such manner

as it may deem fit, establish a Fund into which shall be paid all money donated or

contributed to the fund or accruing to the Fund from any source, other than budgetary

allocation and grant by the Government.

(2) Donations or contributions received from the sources other than the

budgetary allocation and grant by the Government may be invested with the financial

institutions approved by the Commission and may be withdrawn when required and these

funds will be non-lapseable.

(3) The funds provided by the GovernmentJParliament will be lapsable at the

end of the Financial Year.

(4) Any unexpended balance of the money out of the Fund other than

provided by the GovernmentJParliament at the end of the financial year, shall be carried

forward as credit to that particular Fund for the next financial year, and will remain non-

lapsable.

(5) The administrative work, including the receipt of money appropriated by

the Parliament for, or donated for the purposes of the Fund or accruing to the Fund from

any source, and making payments from the fund in compliance with recommendations in

the terms of this Act shall be performed by officers in the public service designated by

the Commission.


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(6) The Commission shall appoint an officer designated under sub-section (5)

as accounting officer in respect of the Fund.

20. Accounts and audit.- (1) The Commission shall maintain proper accounts and

other relevant records and prepare an annual statement of accounts in such form as may

be prescribed by the Commission in consultation with the Auditor-General of Pakistan.

(2) The accounts of the Commission shall be audited by the Auditor General,

at such intervals as may be specified by him.

(3) The Auditor-General and any person appointed by him in connection with

the audit of the accounts of the Commission under this Act shall have the same rights and

privileges and the authority in connection with such audit as the Auditor-General

generally has in connection with the audit of government accounts, connected vouchers

and other documents and papers and to inspect any of the offices of the Commission.

(4) The accounts of the Commission as certified by the Auditor-General or an

other person appointed by him in this behalf, together with the audit report thereon shall

be submitted by the Auditor General to the President who shall cause it to be laid before

the National Assembly in terms of Article 171 of the Constitution.

CHAPTER-VII

HUMAN RIGHTS COURTS

21. Human Rights Courts.- For the purpose of providing speedy trial of

offences arising out of violation of human rights specified by the Federal Government in

consultation with the Commission by notification in the Official Gazette, the Provincial

Government may, with the concurrence of the Chief Justice of the High Court, by

notification, specify for each district a Court of Session to be a Human Rights Court to

try the said offences:


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a Court of Session is already empowered or specified as a special court, or

a special court is already constituted, for such offences under any other

law for the time being in force.

22. Special Public Prosecutor.- For every Human Rights Court, the Provincial

Government shall, by notification, specify a Public Prosecutor or appoint an advocate

who has been in practice as an advocate for not less than ten years, as a Special Public

Prosecutor for the purpose of conducting cases in that Court.

CHAPTER-VIII

MISCELLANEOUS

23. Constitution of special investigation teams.- Notwithstanding anything

contained in any other law for the time being in force, where the Government considers it

necessary so to do, it may constitute one or more special investigation teams consisting of

such police officers as it thinks necessary for purpose of investigation and prosecution of

officers arising out of violations of human rights:

24. Protection of actions taken in good faith.- No suit or other legal proceedings

shall lie against the Federal Government or Commission, any member or any person

acting under the directions either of the Federal Government or Commission in respect of

anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done in pursuance of this Act or

any rules or any order made thereunder or -in respect of the publication by or under the

authority of the Government or the Commission of any report, paper or proceedings.

25. Members and officers to be public servants.- _ Every member of the

Commission and, every officer appointed or authorized by the Commission to exercise

functions under this Act shall be deemed to be a public servant withID the meaning of

section 21 of the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860 (XLV of 1860).

26. Appointment of advisors and consultants.- .The Commission may appoint

such advisors and consultants as it may consider necessary for the efficient performance

of its functions on such terms and conditions as may be prescribed.


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27. Advisory Committee.- The Commission may set-up NGOs Advisory

Committees consisting of human rights activists, civil society organizations and

representative of Federal Ministries and Division and Provincial Departments concerned

with the human rights issues.

28. Power to make rules.- The Commission may, with the prior approval of the

Federal Government, make rules for carrying out the purposes ofthis Act.

29. Directives of the Federal Government.- For furthering the functions of the

National Commission for Human ~ghts the Federal Government may, as and when itconsiders necessary, issue directives to the Commission on matters of Policy; and such

directives shall be binding on the Commission.

30. Power to remove difficulties.- If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the

provisions of this Act, the Federal Government may, by order published in the official

Gazette, make such provision, not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act as appear

to it be necessary or expedient for removing the difficulty.

STATEMENT OF OBJECT AND REASONS

In pursuance of UN General Assembly Resolution No. 48/134 of 20th

December, 1993, and such other relevant resolutions of the UN Commission on Human

Rights, the UN Member States are under obligation to establish independent National

Human Rights institutions which is considered as a singular criterion to judge a State's

commitment towards the protection and promotion of Human Rights. Presently, theNational Human Rights Commissions.are functioning in 54 countries of the world out of

which 13 are Asian countries, including India.

2. The formation of National Commission for Human Rights would not only

fulfill the international obligation of establishment of such a Commission it shall also

serve as driving force for negating the propaganda of Human Rights violations in

Pakistan.

3. The decision to establish an independent National Commission for HumanRights affirms Government's firm commitment to the promotionand protection of human

rights in the country.

4. , The Bill is designed to aclllev~the aforesaid objects.

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