Updated: Monday October 21, 2013/AlEthnien
Thoul Hijjah 17, 1434/Somavara
Asvina 29, 1935, at 07:41:25 PM
The Federal Ombudsmen Institutional
Reforms Ordinance, 2013
ORDINANCE NO I OF 2013
An Ordinance to make institutional reforms for
standardizing and harmonizing the laws relating to Federal Ombudsmen
institution of and the matters ancillary or akin thereto;
[Gazette of Pakistan, Extraordinary, Part-I, 12th
February, 2013]
No. F. 2(1)/2013-Pub.The following Ordinance promulgated by the President
is hereby published for general information:---
WHEREAS it is
expedient to make institutional reforms for standardizing and harmonizing the
laws relating to institution of Federal Ombudsmen and the matters ancillary or
akin thereto;
AND WHEREAS, it
is expedient to enhance effectiveness of the Federal Ombudsmen to provide
speedy and expeditious relief to citizens by redressing their grievances to
promote good governance;
AND WHEREAS, it
is necessary that in order to enable the Federal Ombudsmen to perform their
functions efficiently, they should enjoy administrative and financial autonomy;
AND WHEREAS the
National Assembly and the Senate are not in session and the President is
satisfied that circumstances exist which render it necessary to take immediate
action;
Now, THEREFORE,
in exercise of the powers conferred by clause (1) of Article 89 of the
Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the President is pleased to
make and promulgate the following Ordinance:--
1. Short
title, extent and commencement.(1)
This Ordinance may be called the Federal Ombudsmen Institutional Reforms Ordinance,
2013.
(2) It extends to the whole of Pakistan.
(3) It shall come into force at once.
2. Definitions.In this Ordinance, unless there is anything repugnant
in the subject or context,---
(a) Agency means, the Agency defined in
the relevant legislation and in relation to the Establishment of the Office of Wafaqi Mohtasib (Ombudsman)
Order, 1983 (P.O. No. l of 1983) shall include an Agency in which the
Federal Government has any share or which has been licensed or registered by
the Federal Government and notified by the Wafaqi Mohtasib (Ombudsman) in the
Official Gazette.
(b) Ombudsmanmean an Ombudsman appointed
under the relevant Legislation and includes the Ombudsman appointed under Section
21.
(c) relevant legislation means, the
Office of Wafaqi Mohtasib
(Ombudsman) Order, 1983 (P.O. No. l of 1983), the Establishment of the Office of
Federal Tax Ombudsman Ordinance, 2000 (XXXV of 2000), the Insurance Ordinance, 2000
(Ordinance No. XXXIX of 2000), the Banking Companies Ordinance,
1962 (LVII of 1962), and the Protection
against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act, 2010 (IV of 2010).
3. Tenure
of the Ombudsman.The Ombudsman shall
hold office for a period of four years:---
Provided that
the Ombudsman shall continue to hold office after expiry of his tenure till his
successor enters upon the office..
4. Acting
Ombudsman.At any time when the
office of Ombudsman is vacant or he is unable to perform his functions due to
any cause the President shall appoint an Acting Ombudsman who shall perform
functions and exercise powers as are vested in the Ombudsman and shall be
entitled to all privileges as are admissible to Ombudsman:---
Provided that
till such time the Acting Ombudsman is appointed, the Wafaqi Mohtasib (Ombudsman)
shall act as Ombudsman of the concerned office and in case the Wafaqi Mohtasib
is absent or unable to perform functions of his office, the Federal Tax
Ombudsman shall act as Wafaqi Mohtasib (Ombudsman), in addition to his own
duties.
5. Removal
of Ombudsman.An Ombudsman may be
removed from office through Supreme Judicial Council on the grounds of being
incapable of properly performing duties of his office by reason of physical or
mental incapacity or found to have been guilty of misconduct.
6. Resignation.The Ombudsman may resign his office by writing under
his hand addressed to the President.
7. Grievance
Commissioner.(1) The Ombudsman shall
appoint or designate an officer not below BPS-21 as a Grievance Commissioner in
an Agency against which a large number of complaints are received persistently.
(2) The Grievance Commissioner shall exercise the
powers and perform the functions as may be specified by the Ombudsman.
8. Oath of
office.An Ombudsman shall take Oath
before he enters upon his office in the form as prescribed in the relevant
legislation and in case such form is not prescribed in the relevant legislation
he shall make oath before the President before he enters upon the office in the
form set out in the Schedule to this Act.
9. Expeditious
disposal of complaints.(1) The
Agency shall, if so required by the Ombudsman, submit written comments in a
complaint within fifteen days, and this period may be extended for a further
period of seven days on a sufficient cause.
(2) The representative of the Agency shall, if
so required by the Ombudsman, attend the hearing of a complaint, or may request
in writing for adjournment with specific reasons, such adjournment if justified
shall not be allowed more than seven days.
(3) Disciplinary action shall be taken by the
competent authority if there is failure in terms of sub-section (1) or
sub-section (2).
(4) The Competent authority shall within
fifteen days inform the Ombudsman about the action taken on his orders under
sub-section (3).
(5) The Ombudsman shall dispose of the
complaint within a period of sixty days.
10. Powers of
Ombudsman.In addition to powers
exercised by Ombudsman under the relevant legislation, he shall also have
following powers of a civil Court, namely:---
(i) granting temporary injunctions; and
(ii) implementation of the recommendations,
orders or decisions.
11. Temporary
Injunction.The Ombudsman may stay
operation of the impugned order or decision for a period not exceeding sixty
days.
12. Power to
punish for contempt.An Ombudsman
shall have power to punish for contempt as provided in the Contempt of Court Ordinance,
2003 (V of 2003).
13. Review.(1) The Ombudsman shall have the power to review any
findings, recommendations, order or decision on a review petition made by an
aggrieved party within thirty days of the findings, recommendations, order or
decision.
(2) The Ombudsman shall decide the review
petition within forty five days.
(3) In review, the Ombudsman may alter, modify,
amend or recall the recommendation, order or decision.
14. Representation.(1) Any person or party aggrieved by a decision,
order, findings or recommendations of an Ombudsman may file representation to
the President within thirty days of the decision, order, findings or
recommendations.
(2) The operation of the impugned order,
decision, findings recommendation shall remain suspended for period of sixty
days, if the representation is made as per sub-section (1).
(3) The representation shall be addressed
directly to the President and not through any Ministry, Division or Department.
(4) The representation shall be processed in
the office of the President by a person who had been or is qualified to be a
judge of the Supreme Court or has been Wafaqi Mohtasib or Federal Tax
Ombudsman.
(5) The representation shall be decided within
one hundred and twenty days.
15. Personal
hearing.It shall not be necessary
for the President or the Ombudsman to give personal hearing to the parties and
the matter may be decided on the basis of available record and written comments
filed by the Agency.
16. Supply of
copies.The Ombudsman shall supply
free of cost copies of the findings and recommendations to the parties.
17. Administrative
and financial powers of Ombudsman.(1)
The Ombudsman shall be the Chief Executive and Principal Accounting Officer of
the Office and shall enjoy complete administrative and financial autonomy.
(2) The remuneration payable to the Ombudsman
and the administrative expenses of the office shall be an expenditure charged
upon Federal Consolidated Fund.
(3) The Ombudsman shall have full powers to
create new posts and abolish old posts, to change nomenclature and upgrade or
downgrade any post provided the expenditure is met from within the allocated budget
of the office of Ombudsman.
(4) The Ombudsman shall have full powers to
re-appropriate funds from one head of account to another head of account and to
sanction expenditure on any item from within the allocated budget.
(5) The Ombudsman may delegate any of the above
mentioned powers to a member of the staff not below BPS-21 or equivalent.
18. Bar of
jurisdiction.No Court or authority
shall have jurisdiction to entertain a matter which falls within the
jurisdiction of an Ombudsman nor any Court or authority shall assume
jurisdiction in respect of any matter pending with or decided by an Ombudsman.
19. Additional
responsibility.Where an Ombudsman is
called upon to look after work of any office in the service of Pakistan he
shall not be entitled to any remuneration therefor.
20. Holding
office of profit after expiry of tenure.The Ombudsman shall not hold any office of profit in the service of
Pakistan, other than a judicial or quasi-judicial office, before the expiration
of two years after he has completed the tenure of his office.
21. Miscellaneous.A woman, with an experience of atleast ten years in
the matters relating to protection of women against harassment shall also be
.eligible to be appointed by the President as Ombudsman under the Protection against
Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act, 2010 (IV of 2010).
22. Power to
make rules.The Ombudsman, with the
approval of the President, may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make
rules to carry out the purposes of this Act.
23. Removal
of difficulties.If any difficulty
arises in giving effect to any provision of this Act, the President may make
such Order, as may appear to him to be necessary or expedient for the purpose
of removing the difficulty.
24. Overriding
effect.(1) The provisions of this
Act shall have effect notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for
the time being in force.
(2) In case there is a conflict between the
provisions of this Act and the relevant legislation, the provisions of this Act
to the extent of inconsistency, shall prevail.
THE SCHEDULE
[See Section 8]
I,
..do
solemnly swear that I will bear true faith and allegiance to Pakistan;
That as
.. Ombudsman, I will discharge my duties and perform my functions
honestly, to the best of my ability, faithfully in accordance with the laws of
the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, and without fear or favour, affection or
ill-will;
That I will not allow my personal interest to
influence my official conduct or my official decisions;
And that 1 will
not directly or indirectly communicate, or reveal to any person any matter
which shall be brought under my consideration, or shall become known to me, as
Ombudsman, except as may be required for the due discharge of my duties as
Ombudsman.
May Allah
Almighty help and guide me (Ameen)..
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