40. Right of pre-audience.

- (1) The Attorney General for Pakistan shall have the right of
pre-audience over all other advocates.

(2) Subject to sub-section (1), the Advocate General of a Province shall have the right of
pre-audience over all other advocates; and the right of pre-audience among the Advocates-
General shall be determined by the date of appointment to their respective offices.

(3) The right of pre-audience among other advocates shall be determined by their
seniority inter se.
54
[CHAPTER VII
54
. The original Chapter VII relating to “ Conduct of Advocates reads as follow:-

CHAPTER VII-CONDUCT OF ADVOCATES

41. Punishment of Advocates for misconduct-(1) An advocate may, in the manner hereinafter
provided, be reprimanded, suspended or removed from practice if he is found guilty of professional or other
misconduct.

(2) A complaint that an advocate has been guilty of misconduct may be made by any Court or person-

(a) in the case of an advocate of the Supreme Court in relation to the proceedings of that Court, to the
Pakistan Bar Council, and
(b) in any other case, to the Provincial Bar council.

(3) Every complaint against an advocate made under sub-section (2), except where the complaint has been
made by a Court, shall be accompanied by a fee of ten rupees.

(4) Upon receipt of a complaint made to it under sub-section (2) against any advocate, the Bar council shall,
unless it summarily rejects the complaint, refer the case:-

(a) if the complaint in respect of failure to render professional service for paid, or to return papers, or
to repay balance of money received, for conciliation to a Conciliation Committee appointed by it
and consisting of two persons selected out of a panel of senior advocates practising in the district
in which such advocate practices generally (hereinafter referred to as the Conciliation Committee),
and

(b) if the complaint discloses actions involving moral turpitude or defeat or justice or serious breaches
of professional conduct, for inquiry to an Inquiry Committee appointed by it and consisting of two
persons selected as aforesaid (hereinafter referred to as the Inquiry Committee);

Provided that the Bar Council shall not summarily reject a complaint made by the Supreme Court or a High
Court.

(5) If a Bar council has reason to believe that an advocate has been guilty of misconduct, it may, fits own
motion, refer the case to an inquiry Committee.

(6) An inquiry into, and conciliation proceedings in relation to, a complaint against an advocate, shall be held
at the headquarters of the Bar Council or of the district in which he practices generally.

(7) A Conciliation Committee shall proceed to conciliate in the matter referred to it for conciliation and.-

(a) if a settlement is arrived at in the course of the proceedings before it, shall send a report thereof to
the Bar Council concerned together with a memorandum of settlement signed by the parties to the
proceedings; and
 (b) if no settlement is arrived at as aforesaid shall inform the Bar Council concerned of such failure.

(8) An inquiry Committee shall, after making such inquiry and giving the praties opportunity of being head as
it may consider necessary, make a report for a final hearing and decision to a Tribunal specified by the Bar council
in this behalf.

(9) An Inquiry Committee may where it considers it necessary so to do, require the person making a complaint,
except where the complaint has been made by a Court, to deposit with the Committee as security for costs, such sum
as if may specify.

42. Tribunals of Bar Councils.- (1) The Pakistan Bar Council may constitute one or more Tribunals each
consisting of two of its members elected by it for the purpose and a judge of the Supreme Court nominated by the
Chief Justice of Pakistan, who shall be the Chairman.
(2) A Provincial Bar Council may constitute one or more Tribunals each consisting of two of its members
elected by it for the purpose and a Judge of the High court nominated by the Chief Justice of that Court, who shall
be the Chairman.

43. Procedure in inquiries.- (1) In inquiries relating to conduct of advocates, the Tribunal shall, except as
hereinafter provided, follow such procedure as may be prescribed.

(2) The Tribunal shall fix a date for the hearing of the case and shall cause notice of the day so fixed to be
given to the complainant, to the advocate concerned and to the Advocate General of the Province and shall afford to
the complainant, the advocate concerned and the Advocate-General an opportunity of leading evidence, if any, and
of being heard before orders are passed in the case.

(3) The Chairman of the Tribunal may empower one of the members of the Tribunal to consider and decide
preliminary issues and to record evidence.

(4) The Tribunal may, where it considers it necessary so to do, require the person making a complaint, except
where the complaint has been made by a Court, to deposit with the Tribunal, as security for costs, such sum as it
may specify.

(5) On completion of the inquiry, the Tribunal may either dismiss the complaint or, where reference to the
inquiry Committee on whose report the matter has come before the Tribunal was made at the motion of a Bar
Council, direct that the proceedings be filed; or it may make an order imposing any of the penalties referred to in
sub-section (1) of Section 41.

(6) Where the Tribunal makes an order for the suspension of an advocate from practice, it shall specify the
period of suspension, and for that period the advocate shall be debarred from practising in any Court or before any
authority or person in Pakistan.

(7) The Tribunal may, of its own motion or on application made to it in this behalf, review any order passed
under sub-section (5) and maintain, vary or rescind the same, as it thinks fit.

(8) When any advocate is reprimanded or suspended from practice under this Act, a record of the punishment
shall be entered against his name in the Provincial roll or, as the case may be, the roll of advocates of the Supreme
Court maintained by the Pakistan Bar Council, and the common roll, and when advocate is removed from practice
his name shall forthwith be struck off the roll; and the certificate of any advocate so suspended or removed shall be
recalled.

44. Order as to costs.- (1) An Inquiry Committee and a Tribunal may make such order as to costs of
proceedings before it as it may deem fit; and where the Committee or, as the case may be, the Tribunal is of the
opinion that the complaint made against an advocate is false and vexatious, it may, without prejudice to any other
remedy available to the advocate, impose upon the complainant compensatory costs not exceeding a sum of five
hundred rupees:

Provided that no order under this sub-section shall be made against a Court or the presiding officer of a
Court.
 (2) The Tribunal may, on an application made to it in this behalf within the prescribed period, revise
any order passed by the Inquiry Committee under sub-section (1) or, of its own motion or on application so made,
review any order passed by the Tribunal under that sub-section and may, in either case, maintain, vary or rescind the
same, as it thinks fit.

(3) Subject to sub-section (2), every order of the Inquiry Committee or the Tribunal under sub-section
(1) shall be executable -

(a) If the Committee is appointed, or the Tribunal is constituted, by the Pakistan Bar Council, as if it were
an order of the Supreme Court; and

(b) If the Committee is appointed or the Tribunal is constituted, by a Provincial Bar Council, as if it were
an order of the High Court.

45. Powers of the Tribunal and Inquiry Committee in Inquiries.- (1) For the purposes of any such
inquiry as aforesaid, an Inquiry Committee and a Tribunal shall have the same powers as are vested in a Court under
the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (Act V of 1908), in respect of the following matters namely-

(a) enforcing the attendance of any person.

(b) Compelling the production of documents, and

(c) Issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses:

Provided that the Inquiry Committee or the Tribunal shall not have powers to require the attendance of the
presiding officer of any civil or criminal Court save with the previous sanction of the High Court or, in the case of
the presiding officer of a Revenue Court, of the Provincial Government.

(2) Every such inquiry shall be deemed to be a judicial proceeding within the meaning of Section 193
and 228 of the Pakistan Penal Code (Act XLV of 1860); and an Inquiry Committee and a Tribunal shall be deemed
to be a Civil Court for the purposes of Sections 480 and 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (Act V of
1898).

(3) For the purpose of enforcing the attendance of any person or of compelling the production of
documents or issuing commissions-

(a) the local limits of the jurisdiction of an Inquiry Committee and a Tribunal shall be those of the
jurisdiction of the Bar Council by which the Committee has been appointed or, as the case may be,
the Tribunal has been constituted; and

(b) an Inquiry Committee and a Tribunal may send to any Civil Court having jurisdiction in the place
where the Committee or, as the case may be, the Tribunal is sitting, any summons or other process
for the attendance of a witness or the production of a document required by the Committee or
Tribunal, or any commission which it desires to issue, and the civil Court shall serve such process
or issue such commission, as the case may be and may enforce any such process as if it were
process for attendance or production before itself.

(4) Proceedings before an Inquiry Committee or a Tribunal in any such inquiry shall be deemed to be
civil proceedings for the purposes of Section 132 of the Evidence Act, 1872 (I of 1872), and the provisions of that
Section shall apply accordingly.

46. Disciplinary power of the Pakistan Council.- (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in
this Chapter, the disciplinary committee of the Pakistan Bar Council may, of its own motion, withdraw for inquiry
before itself any proceedings for disciplinary action against any advocate pending before a Provincial Bar Council or
any Conciliation Committee or inquiry committee appointed by it, and dispose of the same.
 (2) In disposing of any case under this Section, the disciplinary committee of the Pakistan Bar council
shall observe, so far as may be, the procedure laid down in Section 43, the reference to the “Advocate-General” in
that Section being construed as reference to the “Attorney General for Pakistan”.

(3) In disposing of any case under this Section, the disciplinary committee of the Pakistan Bar council
may make any order, which the Tribunal can make under Section 43, and the Tribunal shall give effect to any such
order.

47. Appeal to the Pakistan Bar Council- (1) Any person aggrieved by an order of a Tribunal under
Section 43 may, within sixty days from the date on which the order is communicated to him, prefer an appeal to the
Pakistan Bar Council.

(2) Every such appeal shall be heard by the disciplinary committee of the Pakistan Bar Council which
may pass such order thereon as it may deem fit.

48. Appeal to the Supreme Court.- Any person aggrieved by an order mad by the disciplinary
committee of the Pakistan Bar Council under sub-section (3) of Section 46 may, within sixty days from the date on
which the order is communicated to him, prefer an appeal to the Supreme Court which may pass such order thereon
as it may deem fit.

49. Application of Sections 5 and 12 of the Limitation Act, 1908.- The provisions of Section 5 and 12
of the Limitation Act, 1908 (Act IX of 1908), shall so far as may be, apply to appeals made under Section 47 or
Section 48.

50. Stay of order.- Any appeal made under Section 47 or Section 48 shall not operate as a stay of the
order appealed against but the disciplinary committee of the Pakistan Bar Council or the Supreme Court, as the case
may be, may, for sufficient cause, direct the stay of such order on such terms and conditions as it may deem fit.

51. Powers of the disciplinary committee.- The disciplinary committee of the Pakistan Bar Council
shall have the same powers as are vested in a Tribunal by Section 45 and that Section shall apply to the disciplinary
committee, the reference to the “Tribunal” in that Section being construed as a reference to the “disciplinary
committee of the Pakistan Bar Council”.

52. Cost of proceedings before a disciplinary committee.- The disciplinary committee of the Pakistan
Bar Council may make such order as to the costs of proceedings before it as it may deem fit and any such order shall
be executable as if it were an order of the Supreme Court.

53. Review of order by a disciplinary committee.- The disciplinary committee of the Pakistan Bar
Council may of its own motion or otherwise review any order passed by it under this Chapter.

54. Powers of Supreme Court and High Court to suspend advocates from practice.- (1) The Supreme
Court or a High Court may, while making a complaint under sub-section (2) of Section 41 against an advocate, make
an order for the suspension of the advocate from practice if, after hearing such advocate, the Court is of the opinion
that he has committed an act of grave indiscipline in the view of the Court or grave professional misconduct in
relation to any proceeding before it, and his immediate suspension is expedient or necessary in the interest of
administration of justice.

(2) On a complaint made to it against an advocate by a Court subordinate to it, the High Court May-.

(a) make an order under sub-section (1) in respect of such advocate if, after hearing him, it is of the
opinion that he has committed grave professional or other misconduct in relation to any
proceeding before such subordinate Court, and his immediate suspension, pending the proceedings
before the Bar Council, is expedient or necessary in the public interest and forward the complaint
to the Provincial Bar Council for action in accordance with Section 41; or

(b) without making any order under sub-section (1), forward the complaint to the Provincial Bar
Council for action in accordance with Section 41; or
 (c) direct that no further action need be taken in respect of the complaint.

(3) An order under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) for the suspension of an advocate from practice shall
remain in force until the complaint against the advocate is disposed of by the Tribunal under Section 43, unless on
review the Court making the order, for reasons to be recorded, vacates it earlier”.

Sub-sections (4),(5),(6),(7),(8) and (9) of the aforesaid original Section 41 were substitute by the following
through the Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils (amendment) Ordinance, 1982 (Ordinance XVII of 1982:

“(4) upon receipt of a complaint under sub-section (2) against any advocate, the disciplinary committee
of the Bar Council may, unless it summarily rejects the complaint, after making such enquiry and
giving the praties such opportunity of being heard as if may consider necessary, either reject the
complaint or refer the case to a Tribunal for decision:

(5) Any person whose complaint rejected by the disciplinary committee under sub-section (4) may,
within thirty days of the day on which the order of the Committee is communicated to him, prefer
an appeal to the Tribunal, whose decision in such appeal shall be final”.
In the aforesaid Sub-section (5) of original Section 43 the words “the complaint referred to were substituted
for the words “reference to the Inquiry Committee on whose report the matter has come before”, ibid, section 17.

The words “An Inquiry Committee”. “an inquiry committee” and “inquiry committee” appeared in the
aforesaid sub-sections (1), (2) and (3) of original Section 44 were substituted by the words “A disciplinary
committee”, a disciplinary committee” and “disciplinary committee”, respectively, ibid, section 17.

In the aforesaid sub-section (1) its proviso and sub-sections (2), (3) and (4) of original Section 45, the
words “an inquiry Committee” were substituted by the words “a disciplinary committee”, ibid, section 18.

In the above-said sub-section (1) of original Section 46 the words “ any conciliation committee or Inquiry
Committee appointed by it” were substituted by the words “the disciplinary committee thereof”, ibid, section 19.

--- The afore-said sub-section (3) of original Section 54 was omitted, ibid, section 20.

--- The following new section 54-a was inserted in Chapter VII, ibid, section 21:-

54-A- Time for disposal of disciplinary matters. The disciplinary committee and a Tribunal shall dispose
of a complaint against an advocate within three months of the day on which the complaint is
received by it, and, the complaint is not disposed of within that period the order under sub-section
(1) or sub-section (2) of Section 54 for the suspension of the advocate from practice, if any, shall
stand vacated on the expiration of that period, unless on review the court making the order, for
reasons to be recorded, vacates it earlier”.
--- The aforesaid Chapter VII, as amended, was substituted by the following , through the Legal Practitioners
and Bar Councils (Amendment) Ordinance, 1985 (Ordinance XVI of 1985) section 13, with effect from 2.3.1985:-

“CHAPTER VII – MISCONDUCT

41 Punishment of Advocate for misconduct.- (1) The High Court may, in the manner hereinafter
provided, reprimand, suspend or remove from practice any Advocate of the High court whom it finds guilty of
professional or other misconduct.

(2) Upon receipt of a complaint made to it by any Court or by any person that any such Advocate has
been guilty of misconduct, the High Court shall, if it does not summarily reject the complaint, refer the case for
inquiry to the Disciplinary Committee.

(3) If the High Court has reason to believe that an Advocate has been guilty of misconduct, it may, of
its own motion, refer the case to the Disciplinary Committee.

(4) The Disciplinary Committee shall consist of-

 (a) two judges of the High Court nominated by the Chief Justice of the High Court, of whom the
senior shall be the Chairman.
(b) The Advocate-General of the Province, and
(c) Two advocates of not less than ten year’s standing at the Bar nominated by the chief justice of the
High Court.
42. Procedure in inquiries.- (1) The High Court shall make rules to prescribe the procedure to be
followed by the Disciplinary committee in the conduct of inquiries referred to it under Section 41.

(2) If the complaint referred to it under sub-section (2) of Section 41 is in respect of failure to render
professional service for fee paid, or to repay balance of money received, the Disciplinary Committee shall,
before taking up an inquiry, proceed to conciliate in the matter and, it a settlement is arrived at in the course
of the proceedings, shall send a report thereof to the High Court together with a memorandum of settlement
signed by the parties to the proceedings.

(3) The finding of the Disciplinary Committee on an inquiry referred to the Committee under section
41 shall be forwarded to the High Court.

(4) The Chairman of the disciplinary Committee may empower one of the members of the disciplinary
Committee to consider and decide preliminary issues and to record evidence.
(5) On receipt of the finding of the Disciplinary Committee, the High Court shall fix a date of the hearing of
the case and shall cause notice of the day so fixed to be given to the Advocate concerned and shall afford him an
opportunity of being heard before orders are passed in the case.

(6) The High Court may thereafter either pass such final orders in the case as it thinks fit or refer t back for
further inquiry to the Disciplinary Committee and, upon receipt of the finding after such further inquiry, deal with
the case in manner provided in sub-section (5) and pass final orders thereon.

(7) In passing final orders the High court may pass such order as regards the payment of the costs of the
inquiry and of the hearing in the High Court as it thinks fit.

(8) The High Court may, of its own motion or on an application made to it in this behalf, review any order
passed under sub-section (6) or sub-section (7) and maintain, vary or rescind the same, as it thinks fit.

(9) When any Advocate is reprimanded or suspended under this Act, a record of the punishment shall be
entered against his name in the roll of Advocates of the High Court, and when an Advocate is removed from practice
his name shall forthwith be struck off the roll; and the certificate of any Advocate so suspended or removed shall be
recalled.

43. Powers of Disciplinary Committee in inquiries.-(1) For the purposes of an inquiry under Section 41, the
Disciplinary Committee shall have the same powers as are vested in a Court under the Code of Civil Procedure,
1908 (Act V of 1908), in respect of the following matters, namely.

(a) enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him upon oath;
(b) compelling the production of documents; and
(c) issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses;

Provided that the Disciplinary Committee shall not have power to require the attendance of the Presiding
Officer of any civil or criminal Court save with the previous sanction of the High court, or in the case of the
Presiding Officer of a Revenue Court, of the Provincial Government.

(2) Every such inquiry shall be deemed to be a judicial proceeding with the meaning of Sections 193
and 228 of the Pakistan Penal Code (Act XLV of 1860), and a Disciplinary Committee shall be deemed to be a Civil
Court for the purpose of Sections 480 and 482 of the code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, (Act V of 1898).

(3) For the purpose of enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him upon oath or of
compelling the production of documents or of issuing commissions.-
 CONDUCT OF ADVOCATES

(a) the local limits of the jurisdiction of a Disciplinary committee shall be those of the jurisdiction of
the High Court by which it has been constituted; and
(b) a Disciplinary Committee may send to any civil Court having jurisdiction in the place where the
disciplinary Committee is sitting any summons or other process for the attendance of a witness or
the production of a document required by the Disciplinary Committee, or any commission which it
desires to issue, and the civil Court shall serve such process or issue such commission, as the case
may be, and may enforce any such process as if it were a process for attendance or production
before itself.

(4) Proceeding before a Disciplinary Committee in any such inquiry shall be deemed to be civil proceedings
for the purposes of Article 15 of the Qanun-e-Shahadat, 1984 (P.O. No. 10 of 1984), and the provisions of that
Article shall apply accordingly.

44. Power of High Court to suspend Advocates from practice.-(1) The High court may, while making a
reference under sub-section (3) of Section 41 against an Advocate, make an order for the suspension of the Advocate
from practice if, after hearing such Advocate the Court is of the opinion that he has committed an act of grave
indiscipline in the view of the Court or grave professional misconduct in relation to any proceeding before it, and his
immediate suspension is expedient or necessary in the interest of administration of justice.

(2) On a complaint made to it against an Advocate by a court subordinate to it, the High court may-

(a) make an order under sub-section (1) in respect of such Advocate if, after hearing him, it is of the
opinion that he has committed grave professional or other misconduct in relation to any proceeding
before such-subordinate court, and his immediate suspension, pending the proceedings before the
Disciplinary Committee, is expedient or necessary in the interest of administration of justice and
forward the complaint to the Disciplinary Committee in accordance with Section, 41;
(b) without making any order under sub-section (1), forward the complaint to the Disciplinary committee
for action in accordance with Section 41; or
(c) direct that no further action need be taken in respect of the complaint.

(3) An order under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) for the suspension of an Advocate from practice shall
remain in force until the complaint against the Advocate is disposed of by the Disciplinary committee under section
42, unless on review the High court, for reasons to be recorded, vacates it earlier.

CHAPTER VII-A ADVOCATES, ETC., OF SUPREME COURT

44-A, Advocates, etc., of Supreme Court.-(1) Nothing contained in this Act shall be deemed to affect the power of
the Supreme Court to make rules-

(a) to regulate the admission of Advocates and for laying down the conditions subject to which a senior
Advocate shall be entitled to practice in that court; and
(b) for determining the persons who shall be entitled to act as Advocate-on-Record in that Court and the
terms and conditions subject to which such persons can so act.

(2) All persons enrolled as senior Advocates or Advocate-on-Record of the supreme Court immediately before
the commencement of the Legal Practitioners and Bar councils (Amendment) Ordinance, 1985, shall continue to be
so enrolled and the certificates of enrolment issued by the Supreme Court or the Pakistan Bar council which were
valid immediately before such commencement shall continue to be valid”.

The aforesaid Chapter VII (earlier substituted by Ordinance XVI of 1985) was again substituted by the
present test, through the Legal) Practitioners and Bar Councils (Amendment) Act, 1987 (Act VIII of 1987) section
14, with effect from 25.8.1987.

Chapter VIIA, (earlier added by Ordinance XVI of 1985) was omitted, ibid, section 15, with effect from
25.8.1987.
 41. Punishment of advocates for misconduct.- “(1) An advocate may, in the manner
hereinafter provided, be reprimanded, suspended, removed from practice or be made
to pay such amount of compensation, fine or penalty as may be ordered if he is found
guilty of professional or other misconduct,.”

(2) A complaint that an advocate has been guilty of misconduct may be made by any Court
or person-

(a) in the case of an advocate of the Supreme Court to the Pakistan Bar Council; and

(b) in any other case, to the Provincial Bar Council.

(3) Every complaint against an advocate made under sub-section (2), except where the
complaint has been made by a Court, shall be accompanied by such fee as may be prescribed by
the Pakistan Bar Council from time to time; and

(4) Upon receipt of a complaint under sub-section (2) against any advocate, the disciplinary
committee of the Bar Council may, unless it summarily rejects the complaint, after making such
inquiry and giving the parties such opportunity of being heard as it may consider necessary either
reject the complaint or refer the same to a Tribunal for decision;

Provided that the disciplinary committee shall not summarily reject a complaint made by the
Supreme Court or a High Court.

(4A) If a Bar Council has reason to believe that an advocate has been guilty of professional
or other misconduct it may of its own motion refer the case to its disciplinary committee”.

(5) Any person whose complaint is rejected by the disciplinary committee under sub-section
(4) may within thirty days of the day on which the order of the committee is communicated to
him, prefer an appeal to the Tribunal, whose decision in such appeal shall be final.

42. Tribunals of Bar Councils.- (1) The Pakistan Bar Council may constitute one or more
Tribunals each consisting of two of its members elected by it for the purpose and a Judge of the
Supreme Court nominated by the Chief Justice of Pakistan, who shall be the Chairman.

(2) A Provincial Bar Council may constitute one or more Tribunals each consisting of two of
its members elected by it for the purpose and a Judge of the High Court nominated by the Chief
Justice of that Court, who shall be the Chairman.
43. Procedure in inquiries.- (1) In inquiries relating to conduct of advocates, the
Tribunal shall, except as hereinafter provided, follow such procedure as may be prescribed.

(2) The tribunal shall fix a date for the hearing of the case and shall cause notice of the day
so fixed to be given to the complainant, to the advocate concerned and to the Advocate-General
of the Province and shall afford to the complainant, the advocate concerned and the Advocate
General an opportunity of leading evidence, if any, and of being heard before orders are passed
in the case.

(3) The Chairman of the Tribunal may empower one of the members of the Tribunal to
consider and decide preliminary issues and to record evidence.
 (4) The Tribunal may, where it considers it necessary so to do, require the person making a
complaint, except where the complaint has been made by a Court, to deposit with the Tribunal,
as security for costs, such sum as it may specify.

(5) On completion of the inquiry, the Tribunal may either dismiss the complaint or, where
the complaint referred to the Tribunal was made at the motion of a Bar Council, direct that the
proceedings be filed; or it may make an order imposing any of the penalties referred to in sub-
section (1) of section 41.

(6) Where the Tribunal makes an order for the suspension of an advocate from practice, it
shall specify the period of suspension, and for that period the advocate shall be debarred from
practising in any Court or before any authority or person in Pakistan.

(7) The Tribunal may, of its own motion or on application made to it in this behalf, review
any order passed under sub-section (5) and maintain, vary or rescind the same, as it thinks fit.

(8) When any advocate is punished under section 41, the same shall be entered against his
name in the Provincial roll or, as the case may be, the roll of advocates of the Supreme Court
maintained by the Pakistan Bar Council, and the common roll, and when an advocate is removed
from practice his name shall forthwith be struck off the roll; and the certificate of any advocate
so suspended or removed shall be recalled.

44. Order as to costs.- (1) A Disciplinary Committee and a Tribunal may make such order
as to costs of proceedings before it as it may deem fit; and where the Committee or, as the case
may be, the Tribunal is of the opinion that a complaint made against an advocate is false and
vexatious, it may, without prejudice to any other remedy available to the advocate, impose upon
the complainant such compensatory costs as may be deemed reasonable”

Provided that no order under the sub-section shall be made against a Court or the presiding
officer of a Court or a Bar Council.

(2) The Tribunal may on an application made to it in this behalf within the prescribed period,
revise any order passed by a Disciplinary Committee under sub-section (1) or, of its own motion
or on application so made, review any order passed by the Tribunal under that sub-section and
may, in either case, maintain, vary or rescind the same, as it thinks fit.

(3) Subject to sub-section (2), every order of the Disciplinary Committee or the Tribunal
under sub-section (1) shall be executable-

(a) if the Committee is appointed, or the Tribunal is constituted, by the Pakistan Bar
Council, as if it were an order of the Supreme Court; and

(b) if the Committee is appointed, or the Tribunal is constituted, by a Provincial Bar

Council, as if it were an order of the High Court.

45. Powers of the Tribunal and Disciplinary Committee in inquiries.- (1) For the
purposes of any such inquiry as aforesaid, a disciplinary committee and a Tribunal shall have the
same powers as are vested in a Court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (Act V of 1908),
in respect of the following matters, namely-

(a) enforcing the attendance of any person,

(b) compelling the production of documents, and

(c) issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses:

Provided that the disciplinary committee or the Tribunal shall not have power to require the
attendance of the presiding officer of any civil or criminal Court save with the previous sanction
of the High Court or, in the case of the presiding officer of a Revenue Court, of the Provincial
Government.

(2) Every such inquiry shall be deemed to be a judicial proceeding within the meaning of
Sections 193 and 228 of the Pakistan Penal Code (Act XLV of 1860); and a disciplinary
committee and a Tribunal shall be deemed to be a Civil Court for the purpose of Section 480 and
482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (Act V of 1898).

(3) For the purpose of enforcing the attendance of any person or of compelling the
production of documents or issuing commissions-

(a) the local limits of the jurisdiction of a disciplinary committee and a Tribunal shall be
those of the jurisdiction of the Bar Council by which the Committee has been
appointed or, as the case may be, the Tribunal has been constituted; and

(b) a disciplinary committee and a Tribunal may send to any civil Court having
jurisdiction in the place where the Committee or, as the case may be, the Tribunal is
sitting, any summons or other process for the attendance of a witness or the
production of a document required by the Committee or Tribunal, or any commission
which it desires to issue, and the civil Court shall serve such process or issue such
commission, as the case may be, and may enforce any such process for attendance or
production before itself.

(4) Proceedings before a disciplinary committee or a Tribunal in any such inquiry shall be
deemed to be civil proceedings for the purposes of Article 15 of Qanoon-e-Shahadat, 1984 (P.O.
No. 10 of 1984) and the provisions of that Article shall apply accordingly.

46. Disciplinary Powers of the Pakistan Bar Council.- (1) Notwithstanding anything
contained in this Chapter, the disciplinary committee of the Pakistan Bar Council may, of its own
motion, withdraw for inquiry before itself any proceedings for disciplinary action against any
advocate pending before a Provincial Bar Council or a disciplinary committee thereof and
dispose of the same.

(2) In disposing of any case under this section, the disciplinary committee of the Pakistan
Bar council shall observe, so far as may be, the procedure laid down in section 43, the reference
to the “Advocate-General” in that section being construed as reference to the “Attorney-General
for Pakistan”.
 (3) In disposing of any case under this section, the disciplinary committee of the Pakistan
Bar Council may make any order, which the Tribunal can make under Section 43, and the
Tribunal shall give effect to any such order.

“Provided that every order passed hereinabove shall be subject to the approval of the
Pakistan Bar Council.”

47. Appeal to the Pakistan Bar Council.- (1) Any person aggrieved by an order of a
Provincial Tribunal under section 43 may, within sixty days from the date on which the order is
communicated to him, prefer an appeal to the Pakistan Bar Council.

(2) Every such appeal shall be heard by the disciplinary committee of the Pakistan Bar
council which may pass such order thereon as it may deem fit.

48. Appeal to the supreme Court.- Any person aggrieved by an order made by the
disciplinary committee of the Pakistan Bar Council under sub-section (3) of section 46 or
sub-section (2) of section 47 or a final order of a Tribunal of the Pakistan Bar Council, may,
within sixty days from the date on which the order is communicated to him, prefer an appeal to
the Supreme Court which may pass such order thereon as it may deem fit.

49. Application of sections 5 and 12 of the Limitation Act, 1908. - The provisions of
sections 5 and 12 of the Limitation Act, 1908 (Act IX of 1908), shall, so far as may be, apply to
appeals made under section 47 or section 48.

50. Stay of order.- An appeal made under section 47 or section 48 shall not operate as a stay
of the order appealed against but the disciplinary committee of the Pakistan Bar Council or the
Supreme Court, as the case may be, may, for sufficient cause, direct the stay of such order on
such terms and conditions as it may deem fit.

51. Powers of the disciplinary committee.- The disciplinary committee of the Pakistan Bar
Council shall have the same powers as are vested in a Tribunal by section 45 and that section
shall apply to the disciplinary committee, the reference to the “Tribunal” in that section being
construed as a reference to the “disciplinary committee of the Pakistan Bar Council”.

52. Execution of an order of a Bar Council, a Committee or a Tribunal:- Subject to

provisions of this Act and the Rules made thereunder every order of a Bar Council, a Committee
or a Tribunal shall be executable:-

(a) in case of Pakistan Bar council, its Committee or Tribunal as if it was and order of
the Supreme Court; and
(b) in case of a Provincial Bar Council, its Committee or Tribunal as if it was an order
of a High Court.”.

53. Review of the order by disciplinary committee.- The disciplinary committee of the
Pakistan Bar Council may of its own motion or otherwise review any order passed by it under
this Chapter.

54. Power of Supreme Court and High Court to suspend advocates from practice.- (1)
The Supreme Court or a High Court may, while making a complaint under sub-section (2) of
section 41 against an advocate, make an order for the suspension of the advocate from practice if,
after hearing such advocate, the Court is of the opinion that he has committed an act of grave
indiscipline in the view of the Court or grave professional misconduct in relation to any
proceeding before it, and his immediate suspension is in relation to any proceeding before it, and
his immediate suspension is expedient or necessary in the interest of administration of justice.

(2) On a complaint made to it against an advocate by a Court subordinate to it, the High
Court may :-

(a) make an order under sub-section (1) in respect of such advocate if, after hearing him,
it is of the opinion that he has committed grave professional or other misconduct in
relation to any proceeding before such subordinate Court, and his immediate
suspension, pending the proceedings before the Bar Council, is expedient or
necessary in the public interest and forward the complaint to the Provincial Bar
Council for action in accordance with section 41; or

(b) without making any order under sub-section (1), forward the complaint to the
Provincial Bar Council for action in accordance with section 41; or

(c) direct that no further action need be taken in respect of the complaint].

65a
[CHAPTER VIIA … Omitted]
CHAPTER VIII
RULES

55. Power of Pakistan Bar Council to make rules.- The Pakistan Bar Council may, by
notification in the official Gazette, make rules to provide for—

(a) the manner in which the election of members of a 55[……] Bar Council shall be held
and the manner in which results of election shall be published;

(b) the manner in which the election of the Vice-Chairman of a Bar Council shall be
held;

(c) the manner in which and the authority by which doubts and disputes as to the validity
of an election to 56[a Bar Council] or to the office of the Vice-Chairman of a Bar
Council shall be finally decided.

(d) The powers and duties of the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Bar Councils;

65a
. Please see footnote at page 54.
55
. The word “Provincial” was omitted by the Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils (Amendment) Act. 1973
(Act No. XXXVI of 1973) section 4 (a), with effect from 9.6.1973.
56
. The words “the Provincial Bar council” were substituted by the words “ a Bar Council” ibid, section 4 (b).