Law:

Section:

(a) Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act (IV of 2010)-- ----Ss. 1(1), 10, 7 & 13 [as amended by Ss.3 & 9 of Punjab Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace (Amendment) Act, 2012 (III of 2013)]---Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act (X of 2010), Preamble, Ss.96 & 101(3)---Constitution of Pakistan, Arts.270-AA(6), 97, 142, 137 & 1(2)---Scope, nature and effect of Art.270-AA(6) of the Constitution on Federal Laws with respect to any of the matters enumerated in the Concurrent Legislative List, after omission of the said list by the Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act, 2010---Territorial jurisdiction of the Federal Ombudsman for Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace---Petitioners impugned order of Federal Ombudsman for Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace ("Ombudsman"), whereby petitioners' application against assumption of jurisdiction by the Ombudsman for entertaining complaint against the petitioners, was rejected---Contention of the petitioners was, inter alia, that per Art.270-AA(6) of the Constitution, notwithstanding the omission of the Concurrent Legislative List, laws in existence prior to the Eighteenth Constitutional Amendment continued to be in force unless altered, repealed or amended by the competent legislature and in Punjab; through enactment of the Punjab Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace (Amendment) Act, 2012, the (federal) Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act, 2010 stood altered/amended into a Provincial Act and thus, under the Constitutional scheme, the (federal) Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act, 2010 did not remain in force and stood succeeded by the Provincial enactment---Validity---Under Art.270-AA(6) of the Constitution, the (federal) Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act, 2010 remained in force as a Provincial Act; irrespective of the omission of the Concurrent Legislative List by the Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act, 2010 until such time that the said Federal Act was altered, repealed or amended by the competent authority (legislature) and such…