The federal government on Thursday appointed the chairman and two members of the Competition Appellate Tribunal.
According to a notification issued by Law Ministry, former Supreme Court judge Sajjad Ali Shah will serve as the chairman of the Competition Appellate Tribunal, while Faiz Elahi Memon and Asim Akram have been appointed as its members.
The Competition Appellate Tribunal is a specialized forum that handles appeals against decisions of the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP). In November 2023, the federal government had appointed former judge Mazhar Alam Miankhel as chairman but his appointment as ad hoc judge of the Supreme Court in June 2024 had resulted in it becoming inactive.
Despite its brief period of functioning, the Competition Appellate Tribunal has made significant progress in addressing pending cases. By July 2023, the tribunal had issued 30 orders on appeals filed against orders of the CCP, enabling it 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 Competition Commission’s decision or an order of the Appellate Bench within 60 days. Over the past 10 years, however, the tribunal remained inactive for almost eight-and-a-half years, creating significant legal complications. In the absence of an operational tribunal, companies often approached high courts, leading to further delays in legal proceedings.
The Competition Commission of Pakistan currently has 567 pending cases in various courts, involving penalties worth approximately 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 before the Supreme Court.
In a statement, CCP Chairman Kabir Sidhu appreciated the appointments, emphasizing that a functional Tribunal would expedite decisions in pending cases. He noted that delays in resolving appeals had hindered the implementation of vital CCP orders across diverse sectors such as sugar, cement, fertilizer, telecom, banks, and consumer goods.