Senate of Pakistan - Constitutional Law Notes LLB

1) Preface

The Senate is the upper house of the parliament. Article 50 says that there shall be a
majlis-e-shura (Parliament) consisting of the president and the two houses namely
The national assembly and the senate. Under Pakistan’s present constitution Senate is a
permanent legislative institution. Senate as a legislative body collects equal
representatives from all the four provincials regardless of their size and population

2) Relay Article

Article 59,60 and 61

3) Composition of Senate

The senate shall consist of 100 members of whom:
Fourteen shall be elected by the members from each provincial assembly.
Eight shall be elected by members the federal administered Tribal Areas in the national
assembly.
Four shall be elected from federal capital in such a manner as the President may, by
order prescribe.
Four women and four members by each provincial assembly to represent ulema,
technocrats, and other professional.
Four non-muslims, one from each province, shall be elected by the members of each
provincial assembly (18th Amendment)

4) Qualification for the members

Following are the qualification of the member of the senate.
1. Muslim
The candidate must be a Muslim by faith.
2. Citizenship
The candidate must be a citizen of Pakistan.
3. Age
The candidate must not be less than 30 years of age.
4. Office of profit
The candidate should not hold any office of profit in Pakistan5. Bankrupt
The candidate should not be bankrupt.
6. Mentally and physically fit
The candidate must be mentally and physically fit.
5) Procedure for election
According to the procedure defined by the Election Commission of Pakistan.
Under Article 59 of the Constitution, Pakistan’s every province sends 23 members to the
Senate including 14 on general seats, four technocrats, four women and one minority
member. The National Assembly elects four members including two on general seats,
while one each for women and technocrats.

6) Term of the senate

The term of a Senate consists of six years but Senate holds elections after every three
years when one-half of the members of the senate retire after the completion of their
tenure.

7) Restrictions

The senator cannot become a member of both houses at the same time and he has to resign
in one house.

8) Privileges of members of the senate

Members of the senate have the following privileges:
1) Freedom of speech
All the senators have full freedom of speech in the house.
2) Not answerable to any court
All the senators are not liable to any proceeding in any court for anything said in the
house.
3) Salary and allowances
All the senators of the senate are paid salary and allowances.
4) Accommodation
Accommodation to all the senators is given for free.

9) Voting and quorum

The quorum of the senate shall be one fourth (25 %) of the membership and all
decisions shall be made with the vote of the majority.

10) Summoning and prorogation of the session

The president of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan shall summon the senate in order to meet
at any time and place as he thinks fit and may also prorogate the same.

11) Chairman and deputy chairman of the senate

The senate shall elect any member as chairman and deputy chairman from amongst.
They -shall take the oath of their office. The chairman and deputy chairman can be removed
from their office by passing a resolution with the majority vote of the total membership of
the senate.
Vacancy in the office
The office of the chairman and the deputy chairman may become vacant if,
He resigns from his office
He ceases to be a member of the senate
He is removed from the office

12) Powers and functions of the senate

Following are the powers and functions of the senate.
1) Legislation
The senate takes part in the law-making process. It is the most important duty of the
parliament. The Senate has the power to pass a bill or reject the bill.
2) Administrative
The senate keeps and watches on the administrative affair within the country as well as
all-important appointments are made by the senate.
3) Judicial
The Senate has the power to make rules for regulating its procedure and conduct of its
business.
4) Electoral
The senate performs electoral functions in many ways for example election of the
president Islamic republic of Pakistan.
5) Amendments in the constitution
The Senate has the power to amend the constitution.
6) Removal of grievances of people
The Senate removes the grievances of the people and discusses their problems.13) Dissolution
Under the Pakistan constitution 1973, the senate shall not be subject to dissolution.

14) Preclude Remarks

To Preclude, we can say that the senate is upper house of the parliament. It consists of 104 members. It is a continuous body. The session of the Senate is presided by the chairman and under the constitution of the Pakistan 1973, the Senate cannot be dissolved at any cost.

---

You may also like:

• Newer Post
• Older Post

This is the post on the topic of the Senate of Pakistan - Constitutional Law Notes LLB. The post is tagged and categorized under in Education News, LLB Notes Tags. For more content related to this post you can click on labels link.

You can give your opinion or any question you have to ask below in the comment section area. Already 0 people have commented on this post. Be the next one on the list. We will try to respond to your comment as soon as possible. Please do not spam in the comment section otherwise your comment will be deleted and IP banned.