Pakistan Bar Council Free Legal Aid Rules — section 5

5. Central Free Legal Aid Committee:

(a)This Committee shall consist of not more than five members of Pakistan Bar Council elected by it and having at least one member from each Province of Pakistan. The Committee as constituted at present shall continue for the remaining term of the sitting Pakistan Bar Council.

(b)It shall provide free legal aid to a deserving person or a litigant in the Supreme Court or any Tribunal, Authority and/or a Court functioning at federal level including the Wafaqi Mohtasib.

(c)The term of office of this Committee shall be co-extensive with the term of the Pakistan Bar Council electing the Committee.

(d)The members of the Committee shall elect one of its elected members to be the Chairman of the Committee.

(e)The decision of the Committee shall be taken by majority and the quorum of the Committee meetings shall be one third of the members.

(f)(i) The Chairman may authorize one of Members of the Committee to receive an application for free legal aid at each registry of the Supreme Court and deal with and decide the same in consultation with him.

(ii)The funds of the Pakistan Free Legal Aid Committee shall be deposited in a separate Bank account in a scheduled Bank to be approved by the Committee and the account shall be jointly operated by the Chairman of the Committee and the Secretary of the Pakistan Bar Council. [Provided that in case of urgency, the Chairman of Central Free Legal Aid Committee will be competent to take a decision on receipt of an application for free legal aid subject to formal approval of the Committee in its subsequent meeting.]

(g)The Central Free Legal Aid Committee shall be in over all control of all its sub-committees and Committees of all Provinces and Districts in respect of distribution of free legal aid and may issue such directions, as it may deem fit, for implementation of the Rules subject to the policy laid down by the Pakistan Bar Council from time to time.