ISLAMABAD: The federal government has appointed the chairman and two members of the Competition Appellate Tribunal. According to a notification issued by the Federal Ministry of Law and Justice, Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, a former judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, has been appointed as the chairman of the Competition Appellate Tribunal. Additionally, Dr. Faiz Elahi Memon and Asim Akram have been appointed as members of the tribunal.
The CAT in Pakistan is a specialized forum that handles appeals against decisions of the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP). Previously, in November 2023, the federal government had appointed Justice (Retd.) Mazhar Alam Miankhel, former Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court, as chairman of the tribunal. However, following his appointment as an ad hoc judge in the Supreme Court in June 2024, the tribunal once again became inactive.
Despite its brief period of functioning, the Competition Appellate Tribunal made significant progress in addressing pending cases. By July 2023, the tribunal had issued 30 orders on appeals filed against CCP’s decisions, enabling the CCP to recover Rs 100 million in compliance with these orders. The Competition Tribunal was established under Section 43 of the Competition Act, 2010, and comprises a chairperson and two technical members. Under Section 42 of the Act, any party can file an appeal against the Commission’s decision or an order of the Appellate Bench within 60 days.
Over the last 10 years, the tribunal remained inactive for nearly 8.4 years, creating significant legal complications. In the absence of an operational tribunal, companies often approached the High Courts, leading to stay orders causing further delays in legal proceedings.
The Competition Commission of Pakistan currently has 567 pending cases in various courts, involving the penalties worth approx. Rs 74 billion. Additionally, 170 cases are pending before the Competition Appellate Tribunal, while 140 appeals remain unresolved in various High Courts and 177 cases are pending in the Supreme Court.
The Chairman CCP Dr Kabir Sidhu expressed satisfaction with this new development, emphasizing that a functional Tribunal would expedite decisions in pending cases. Delays in resolving appeals had previously hindered the implementation of vital CCP orders across diverse sectors such as sugar, cement, fertilizer, telecom, banks, and consumer goods. The resolution of such cases is anticipated to bring clarity and efficiency to the affected industries at large.