59. The Senate

(1) The Senate shall consist of one-hundred members, of whom,-

(a) fourteen shall be elected by the members of each Provincial Assembly;

(b) eight shall be elected from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, in such manner as the President may, by Order, prescribe;

(c) two on general seats, and one woman and one technocrat including aalim shall be elected from the Federal Capital in such manner as the President may, by Order, prescribe;

(d) four women shall be elected by the members of each Provincial Assembly;

(e) four technocrats including ulema shall be elected by the members of each Provincial Assembly.

(2) Election to fill seats in the Senate allocated to each Province shall be held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote.

(3) The Senate shall not be subject to dissolution but the term of its members, who shall retire as follows, shall be six years:-

(a) of the members referred to in paragraph (a) of clause (1), seven shall retire after the expiration of the first three years and seven shall retire after the expiration of the next three years.

(b) of the members referred to in paragraph (b) of the aforesaid clause, four shall retire after the expiration of the first three years and four shall retire after the expiration of the next three years;

(c) of the members referred to in paragraph (c) of the aforesaid clause,-

(i) one elected on general seat shall retire after the expiration of the first three years and the other one shall retire after the expiration of the next three years, and

(ii) one elected on the seat reserved for technocrat shall retire after first three years and the one elected on the seat reserved for woman shall retire after the expiration of the next three years;

(d) of the members referred to in paragraph (d) of the aforesaid clause, two shall retire after the expiration of the three years and two shall retire after the expiration of the next three years; and

(e) of the members referred to in paragraph (e) of the aforesaid clause, two shall retire after the expiration of the first three years and two shall retire after the expiration of the next three years:

Provided that the term of office of a person elected to fill a casual vacancy shall be the unexpired term of the member whose vacancy he has filled.

60. Chairman and Deputy Chairman

(1) After the Senate has been duly constituted, it shall, at its first meeting and to the exclusion of any other business, elect from amongst its members a Chairman and a Deputy Chairman and, so often as the office of Chairman or Deputy Chairman becomes vacant, the Senate shall elect another member as Chairman or, as the case may be, Deputy Chairman.

(2) The term of office of the Chairman or Deputy Chairman shall be [60][three] years from the day on which he enters upon his office.

61. Other provisions relating to Senate.

The provisions of clauses (2) to (7) of Article 53, clauses (2) and (3) of Article 54 and Article 55 shall apply to the Senate as they apply to the National Assembly and, in their application to the Senate, shall have effect as if references therein to the National Assembly, Speaker and Deputy Speaker were references, respectively, to the Senate, Chairman and Deputy Chairman and as if, in the proviso to the said clause (2) of Article 54, for the words "one hundred and thirty" the word "ninety" were substituted.

Provisions as to Members of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament)

62. Qualifications for membership of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament).

A person shall not be qualified to be elected or chosen as a member of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) unless :-

(a) he is a citizen of Pakistan;

(b) he is, in the case of the National Assembly, not less than twenty -five years of age and is enrolled as a voter in any electoral roll in-

(i) any part of Pakistan, for election to a general seat or a seat reserved for non-Muslims; and

(ii) any area in a Province from which he seeks membership for election to a seat reserved for women.

(c) he is, in the case of Senate, not less than thirty years of age and is enrolled as a voter in any area in a Province or, as the case may be, the Federal Capital or the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, from where he seeks membership;

(d) he is of good character and is not commonly known as one who violates Islamic Injunctions;

(e) he has adequate knowledge of Islamic teachings and practises obligatory duties prescribed by Islam as well as abstains from major sins ;

(f) he is sagacious, righteous and non-profligate and honest and ameen;

(g) he has not been convicted for a crime involving moral turpitude or for giving false evidence;

(h) he has not, after the establishment of Pakistan, worked against the integrity of the country or opposed the Ideology of Pakistan

Provided that the disqualifications specified in paragraphs (d) and (e) shall not apply to a person who is a non-Muslim, but such a person shall have good moral reputation; and

(i) he possesses such other qualifications as may be prescribed by Act of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament).

63. Disqualifications for membership of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament).

(1) A person shall be disqualified from being elected or chosen as, and from being, a member of the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament), if:-

(a) he is of unsound mind and has been so declared by a competent court; or

(b) he is an undischarged insolvent; or

(c) he ceases to be a citizen of Pakistan, or acquires the citizenship of a foreign State; or

(d) he holds an office of profit in the service of Pakistan other than an office declared by law not to disqualify its holder; or

(e) he is in the service of any statutory body of any body which is owned or controlled by the Government or in which the Government has a controlling share or interest; or

(f) being a citizen of Pakistan by virtue of section 14B of the Pakistan Citizenship Act, 1951 (II of 1951), he is for the time being disqualified under any law in force in Azad Jammu and Kashmir from being elected as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Azad Jammu and Kashmir; or

(g) he is propagating any opinion, or acting in any manner, prejudicial to the Ideology of Pakistan, or the sovereignty, integrity or security of Pakistan, or morality, or the maintenance of public order, or the integrity or independence of the judiciary of Pakistan, or which defames or brings into ridicule the judiciary or the Armed Forces of Pakistan; or

(h) he has been convicted by a court of competent jurisdiction on a charge of corrupt practice, moral turpitude or misuse of power or authority under any law for the time being in force; or

(i) he has been dismissed from the service of Pakistan or service of a corporation or office set up or controlled by the Federal Government, Provincial Government or a Local Government on the grounds of misconduct or moral turpitude; or

(j) he has been removed or compulsorily retired from the service of Pakistan or service of a corporation or office set up or controlled by the Federal Government, Provincial Government or a Local Government on the grounds of misconduct or moral turpitude; or

(k) he has been in the service of Pakistan or of any statutory body or any body which is owned or controlled by the Government or in which the Government has a controlling share or interest, unless a period of two years has elapsed since he ceased to be in such service; or

(l) he is found guilty of a corrupt or illegal practice under any law for the time being in force, unless a period of five years has elapsed from the date on which that order takes effect; or

(m) he has been convicted under section 7 of the Political Parties Act, 1962 (III of 1962), unless a period of five years has elapsed from the date of such conviction; or

(n) he, whether by himself or by any person or body of persons in trust for him or for his benefit or on his account or as a member of a Hindu undivided family, has any share or interest in a contract, not being a contract between a cooperative society and Government, for the supply of goods to, or for the execution of any contract or for the performance of any service undertaken by, Government:

Provided that the disqualification under this paragraph shall not apply to a person-

(i) where the share or interest in the contract devolves on him by inheritance or succession or as a legatee, executor or administrator, until the expiration of six months after it has so devolved on him;

(ii) where the contract has been entered into by or on behalf of a public company as defined in the Companies Ordinance, 1984 (XLVII of 1984), of which he is a share-holder but is not a director holding an office of profit under the company; or

(iii) where he is a member of a Hindu undivided family and the contract has been entered into by any other member of that family in the course of carrying on a separate business in which he has no share or interest; or

Explanation.- In this Article "goods" does not include agricultural produce or commodity grown or produced by him or such goods as he is, under any directive of Government or any law for the time being in force, under a duty or obligation to supply.

(o) he holds any office of profit in the service of Pakistan other than the following offices, namely :-

(i) an office which is not whole time office remunerated either by salary or by fee;

(ii) the office of Lumbardar, whether called by this or any other title;

(iii) the Qaumi Razakars;

(iv) any office the holder whereof, by virtue of such office, is liable to be called up for military training or military service under any law providing for the constitution or raising of a Force; or

(p) he has been convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for having absconded by a competent court under any law for the time being in force; or

(q) he has obtained a loan for an amount of two million rupees or more, from any bank, financial institution, cooperative society or cooperative body in his own name or in the name of his spouse or any of his dependents, which remains unpaid for more than one year from the due date, or has got such loan written off; or

(r) he or his spouse or any of his dependents has defaulted in payment of government dues and utility expenses, including telephone, electricity, gas and water charges in excess of ten thousand rupees, for over six months, at the time of filing his nomination papers ; or

(s) he is for the time being disqualified from being elected or chosen as a member of the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament)or of a Provincial Assembly under any law for the time being in force.

(2) If any question arises whether a member of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) has become disqualified from being a member, the Speaker or, as the case may be, the Chairman shall, within thirty days from raising of such question refer the question to the Chief Election Commissioner.

(3) Where a question is referred to the Chief Election Commissioner under clause (2), he shall lay such question before the Election Commission which shall give its decision thereon not later than three months from its receipt by he Chief Election Commissioner.

63A. Disqualification on grounds of defection, etc.

(1) If a member of a Parliamentary Party composed of a single political party in a House-

(a) resigns from membership of his political party or joins another Parliamentary Party; or

(b) votes or abstains from voting in the House contrary to any direction issued by the Parliamentary Party to which he belongs, in relations to-

(i) election of the Prime Minister or the Chief Minister; or

(ii) a vote of confidence or a vote of no-confidence; or

(iii) a Money Bill;

he may be declared in writing by the Head of the Parliamentary Party to have defected from the political party, and the Head of the Parliamentary Party may forward a copy of the declaration to the Presiding Officer, and shall similarly forward a copy thereof to the member concerned:

Provided that before making the declaration, the Head of the Parliamentary Party shall provide such member with an opportunity to show cause as to why such declaration may not be made against him.

(2) A member of a House shall be deemed to be a member of a Parliamentary Party if he having been elected as a candidate or nominee of a political party which constitutes the Parliamentary Party in the House or, having been elected otherwise than as a candidate or nominee of a political party, has become a member of such Parliamentary Party after such election by means of a declaration in writing.

(3) Upon receipt of the declaration under clause (1), the Presiding Officer of the House shall within two days refer the declaration to the Chief Election Commissioner who shall lay the declaration before the Election Commission for its decision thereon confirming the declaration or otherwise within thirty days of its receipt by the Chief Election Commissioner.

(4) Where the Election Commission confirms the declaration, the member referred to in clause (1) shall cease to be a member of the House and his seat shall become vacant.

(5) Any party aggrieved by the decision of the Election Commission may within thirty days, prefer an appeal to the Supreme Court which shall decide the matter within three months from the date of the filing of the appeal.

(6) Nothing contained in this Article shall apply to the Chairman or Speaker of a House.

(7) For the purpose of this Article -

(a) "House" means the National Assembly or the Senate in relation to the Federation and a Provincial Assembly in relation to the Province, as the case may be.

(b) "Presiding Officer" means the Speaker of the National Assembly, the Chairman of the Senate or the Speaker of the Provincial Assembly, as the case may be.

64. Vacation of seats.

(1) A Member of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) may, by writing under his hand addressed to the Speaker or, as the case may be, the Chairman resign his seat, and thereupon his seat shall become vacant.

(2) A House may declare the seat of a member vacant if, without leave of the House, he remains absent for forty consecutive days of its sittings.

65. Oath of members.

A person elected to a House shall not sit or vote until he has made before the House oath in the form set out in the Third Schedule.

66. Privileges of members, etc.

(1) Subject to the Constitution and to the rules of procedure of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament), there shall be freedom of speech in Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) and no member shall be liable to any proceedings in any court in respect of anything said or any vote given by him in Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament), and no person shall be so liable in respect of the publication by or under the authority of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) of any report, paper, votes or proceedings.

(2) In other respects, the powers, immunities and privileges of Majlis-e-Shoora, (Parliament), and the immunities and privileges of the members of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) , shall be such as may from time to time be defined by law and, until so defined, shall be such as were, immediately before the commencing day, enjoyed by the National Assembly of Pakistan and the committees thereof and its members.

(3) Provision may be made by law for the punishment, by a House, of persons who refuse to give evidence or produce documents before a committee of the House when duly required by the chairman of the committee so to do:

Provided that any such law-

(a) may empower a court to punish a person who refuses to give evidence or produce documents; and

(b) shall have effect subject to such Order for safeguarding confidential matters from disclosure as may be made by the President.

(4) The provisions of this Article shall apply to person s who have the right to speak in, and otherwise to take part in the proceedings of, [66] [Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament)] as they apply to members.

(5) In this Article, Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) means either House or a joint sitting, or a committee thereof.

Procedure Generally

67. Rules of Procedure, etc.

(1) Subject to the Constitution, a House may make [67] rules for regulating its procedure and the conduct of its business, and shall have power to act notwithstanding any vacancy in the membership thereof, and any proceedings in the House shall not be invalid on the ground that some persons who were not entitled to do so sat, voted or otherwise took part in the proceedings.

(2) Until rules are made under clause (1), the procedure and conduct of business in a House shall be regulated by the rules of procedure made by the President.

68. Restriction on discussion in Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament).

No discussion shall take place in Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) with respect to the conduct of any Judge of the Supreme Court or of a High Court in the discharge of his duties.

69. Courts not to inquire into proceedings of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament).

(1) The validity of any proceedings in Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) shall not be called in question on the ground of any irregularity of procedure.

(2) No officer or member of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) in whom powers are vested by or under the Constitution for regulating procedure or the conduct of business, or for maintaining order in Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament), shall be subject to the jurisdiction of any court in respect of the exercise by him of those powers.

(3) In this Article, Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) has the same meaning as in Article 66.

Legislative Procedure

70. Introduction and passing of Bills.

(1) A Bill with respect to any matter in the Federal Legislative List or in the Concurrent Legislative List may originate in either House and shall, if it is passed by the House in which it originated, be transmitted to the other House; and, if the Bill is passed without amendment, by the other House also, it shall he presented to the President for assent.

(2) if a Bill transmitted to a House under clause (1) is rejected or is not passed within ninety days of its receipt or is passed with amendment, the Bill, at the request of the House in which it originated, shall be referred to a Mediation Committee constituted under Article 71 for consideration and resolution thereon.

(3) Where a Bill is referred to the Mediation Committee under clause (2), the Mediation Committee shall, within ninety days, formulate an agreed Bill which is likely to be passed by both Houses of the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) and place the agreed Bill separately before each House and if both the Houses pass the Bill, it shall be presented to the President for assent. President for assent.

(4) In this Article and the succeeding provisions of the Constitution, "Federal Legislative List" and "Concurrent Legislative List" mean respectively the Federal Legislative List and the Concurrent Legislative List in the Fourth Schedule.

71. Mediation Committee

(1) Both Houses of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) shall, within fifteen days from the date of referral of the Bill by the House in which it was originated for consideration and resolution by the Mediation Committee under clause (2) of Article 70 nominate eight members each as members of a Mediation Committee.

(2) The House in which the Bill was originated shall nominate a member of the Mediation Committee as Chairman of the Committee and the other House shall nominate a member as the Vice-Chairman thereof.

(3) All decisions of the Mediation Committee shall be made by a majority of the total number of members of each House in the Committee.

(4) The President may, in consultation with the Speaker of the National Assembly and Chairman of the Senate, make rules for conduct of business of the Mediation Committee.

72. Procedure at joint sittings.

(1) The President, after consultation with the Speaker of the National Assembly and the Chairman, may make rules as to the procedure with respect to the joint sittings of, and communications between, the two Houses.

(2) At a joint sitting, the Speaker of the National Assembly or, in his absence, such person as may be determined by the rules made under clause (1), shall preside.

(3) The rules made under clause (1) shall be laid before a joint sitting and may be added to, varied, amended or replaced at a joint sitting.

(4) Subject to the Constitution, all decisions at a joint sitting shall be taken by the votes of the majority of the members present and voting.

73. Procedure with respect to Money Bill.

(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in Article 70, a Money Bill shall originate in the National Assembly.

Provided that simultaneously when a Money Bill, including the Finance Bill containing the Annual Budget Statement, is presented in the National Assembly, a copy thereof shall be transmitted to the Senate which may, within seven days, make recommendations thereon to the National Assembly.

(1A) The National Assembly shall, consider the recommendations of the Senate and after the Bill has been passed by the Assembly with or without incorporating the recommendations of the Senate, it shall be presented to the President for assent.

(2) For the purpose of this Chapter, a Bill or amendment shall be deemed to be a Money Bill if it contains provisions dealing with all or any of the following matters, namely:-

(a) the imposition, abolition, remission, alteration or regulation of any tax;

(b) the borrowing of money, or the giving of any guarantee, by the Federal government, or the amendment of the law relating to the financial obligations of that Government;

(c) the custody of the Federal Consolidated Fund, the payment of moneys into, or the issue of moneys from, that Fund;

(d) the imposition of a charge upon the Federal Consolidated Fund, or the abolition or alteration of any such charge;

(e) the receipt of moneys on account of the Public Account of the Federation, the custody or issue of such moneys;

(f) the audit of the accounts of the Federal Government or a Provincial Government; and

(g) any matter incidental to any of the matters specified in the preceding paragraphs.

(3) A Bill shall not be deemed to be a Money Bill by reason only that it provides:-

(a) for the imposition or alteration of any fine or other pecuniary penalty, or for the demand or payment of a licence fee or a fee or charge for any service rendered; or

(b) for the imposition, abolition, remission, alteration or regulation of any tax by any local authority or body for local purposes.

(4) If any question arises whether a Bill is a Money Bill or not, the decision of the Speaker of the National Assembly thereon shall be final.

(5) Every Money Bill presented to the President for assent shall bear a certificate under the hand of the Speaker of the National Assembly that it is a Money Bill, and such certificate shall be conclusive for all purposes and shall not be called in question.

74. Federal Government's consent required for financial measures.

A Money Bill or a Bill or amendment which if enacted and brought into operation would involve expenditure from the Federal Consolidated Fund or withdrawal from the Public Account of the Federation or affect the coinage or currency of Pakistan or the constitution or functions of the State Bank of Pakistan shall not be introduced or moved in [72][Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament)] except by or with the consent of the Federal Government.

75. President's assent to Bills.

(1) When a Bill is presented to the President for assent, the President shall, within thirty days,-

(a) assent to the Bill; or

(b) in the case of a Bill other than a Money Bill, return the Bill to the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) with a message requesting that the Bill, or any specified provision thereof, be reconsidered and that any amendment specified in the message be considered.

(2) When the President has returned a Bill to the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament), it shall be reconsidered by the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) and, if it is again passed, with or without amendment, by the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament), in accordance with Article 70 it shall be deemed for the purposes of the Constitution to have been passed by both Houses and shall be presented to the President and the President shall not withhold assent therefrom].

(3) When the President has assented to a Bill, it shall become law and be called an Act of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament).

(4) No act of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament), and no provision in any such Act, shall be invalid by reason only that some recommendation, previous sanction or consent required by the Constitution was not given if that Act was assented to in accordance with the Constitution.

76. Bill not to lapse on prorogation, etc.

(1) A Bill pending in either House shall not lapse by reason of the prorogation of the House.

(2) A Bill pending in the Senate which has not been passed by the National Assembly shall not lapse on the dissolution of the National Assembly.

(3) A Bill pending in the National Assembly, or a Bill which having been passed by the National Assembly is pending in the Senate, shall lapse on the dissolution of the National Assembly.

77. Tax to be levied by law only.

No tax shall be levied for the purposes of the Federation except by or under the authority of Act of [75] [Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament)].