Law: Constitution of Pakistan, 1973

Section: 4, 10

Law: Privatization Commission (Amendment) Ordinance, 2002

Section: 28, 31, 33, 28, 29

Law: General Clauses Act, 1897

Section: 6

SUMMARY The right of appeal, no doubt, is a vested and substantive right which accrues to a litigant on the date of institution of the lis and cannot be taken away except by express words or by necessary implication. However, the forum through which such right is to be exercised is a matter of procedure; therefore, the right of appeal and the forum of appeal are two distinct and separate concepts. A litigant has a vested right of appeal, but no vested right to have that appeal heard by a particular forum, number of judges, or under a specific procedural arrangement. It is a settled principle of law that statutes relating to procedure, including those effecting a change of forum, operate retrospectively and apply to pending proceedings, unless such change prejudicially affects a substantive or vested right, causes injustice, or the legislature expressly provides otherwise. A mere change of forum does not amount to prejudice, nor does it extinguish or curtail the right of appeal; rather, it regulates the mode and machinery through which that right is exercised. Where legislation alters jurisdiction or transfers appellate authority from one forum to another without abolishing the right of appeal itself, such change is procedural in nature and does not offend constitutional guarantees of due process or fair trial. However, where a statutory amendment results in the complete denial of an appellate remedy, creates a forum vacuum, or leaves the vested right of appeal without an express or effective forum, such interpretation must be avoided, as it would violate Articles 4 and 10-A of the Constitution. (ii) the omission of Section 33 under the Amended Act, 2024, constitutes a procedural amendment, altering the forum of appeal, and does not repeal any substantive law or create a right previously vested. Consequently, Section 6 cannot be invoked to revive the old appellate path through a larger Bench of the High Court. Similarly, Article 264 of the Constitution provides that the repeal of a law shall not affect rights, privileges, obligations, or liabilities that have already accrued under that law, nor shall it revive a law that was previously in force. In other words,…