- A five-member larger bench headed by Chief Justice Bandyal heard the case.
- The Supreme Court held 17 hearings of the recoded presidential reference.
- The Chief Justice thanked all the judicial assistants, Additional Attorney General and lawyers.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday completed the hearing of the reference filed in the Rekodic case President Dr. Arif Alvi.
A five-member larger bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Atta Bandial heard the case and the verdict on the presidential reference will be pronounced next week.
gave Supreme Court 17 hearings were held on the recoded presidential reference. The Chief Justice thanked all the judicial assistants, Additional Attorney General and lawyers.
On October 18, President Alvi filed a reference on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to seek the Supreme Court’s opinion on the Recodec Settlement Agreement under Article 186 of the Constitution of Pakistan.
The President asked two legal questions in the reference.
- In Maulvi Abdul Haq vs Federation of Pakistan 2013 case, can Government of Balochistan or Government of Pakistan enter into an international agreement as per Supreme Court decision.
- If the proposed Foreign Investment (Protection and Promotion) Act 2022 will be constitutional.
In March 2022, the then finance minister Shaukat Tareen announced that an agreement had been signed with a foreign company to develop the Rekodic mine. Barrack GoldAccording to which the share of Balochistan will be 25 percent.
Pakistan and the Tethyan Copper Company (TCC) had agreed on a share split in which both parties would get 50 percent of them, as opposed to a 25 percent stake for Pakistan in the previous deal.
In 2019, Pakistan was able to win a massive $16 billion to $6 billion fine in the Rekodic case. In a 700-page judgment, the Washington-based International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) awarded Pakistan a penalty of $4.08 billion and interest of $1.87 billion. The amount will be paid to TCC.
The firm was granted a license to mine gold and copper in Rekodak area of Balochistan, but former Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Chaudhry canceled the contract with the company.