The Supreme Court of Pakistan has issued a series of appeals by the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) in a historical and historical judgment and has recognized that the National Olympic Committee (NOC) Pakistan is an autonomous and independent body, free of federal and provincial authorities is government and control by the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB), and that under Article 199 of the Pakistani Constitution no written complaint against the POA can be maintained.
The Apex Court ruling has ended the years-long misunderstanding that the POA falls within the purview of the Federal Government. The Supreme Court has alleged that the Federal Government has no significant control over or controls the control of the POA and that there is no financial interest of the state in the functions of the POA. The Supreme Court has also declared the POA elections held in 2012 legal, and overturned a Lahore High Court (LHC) ruling against these elections.
The hearing for the said appeal was on November 14, 2018, and the verdict was announced on January 1, 2019 by a three-headed bank headed by Pakistan’s Supreme Judge Mian Saqib Nisar with Justice Minister Ijazul Ahsan and Admiral Judge Sajjad Ali Shah another two members.
The background to the appeals / litigation was that the elections held on 04-02-2012 for all offices within the POA, with the exception of the President, did not take place by secret ballot, but instead by show of hands in violation of the POA rules. Unfortunately, some people have submitted a written application to the Lahore Supreme Court that has been accepted, and the elections have been declared illegal and without proper authority. The LHC judgment was challenged by the POA and its officials before the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
The CJP’s ruling was based on a number of quotes from the Apex Tribunal and stated as follows: “It is undisputed that the Association is not controlled by the Federal Government and that it is neither a statutory body nor has it acquired any affiliation with the PSB (Pakistan Sports Board). “While the legal point was decided as to whether the POA is a” person “who functions as a state and can be controlled by the government, the Apex Court ruled:”
The association organizes National Games to represent Pakistan international sporting events, reviews, authorizes and guarantees the application of a city or organization applying for international sporting events and is also responsible for the promotion and development of sport in Pakistan. None of the above functions includes the exercise of sovereign or public authority and does not constitute a function or duty of the state. It is not exclusively government-managed organizations that can carry the Pakistani flag or integrate it into their identity.
Therefore, the association does not exercise any functions of the state that take sovereign or public authority. Although the Federal Government approves the selection of quotas, it gives its assent to the association representing Pakistan at international events. However, we do not realize that this amounts to control by the executive. The Federal Government exercises no decision-making authority, even if the PSB is involved in the review and approval of teams. “
The Supreme Court mentioned the objectives and objectives of the POA and stated that “its autonomy, dignity and independence under the Olympic Charter should not be endangered.” Regarding the Government’s funding of the POA, the Supreme Court stated: The Federal Government provides financial support to cover the costs of sending contingents to the Olympic Games.
However, the private activities and other administration of the organization are financed by the association itself. The overall activities of the organization are independent and most of the activities carried out are privately funded. A single activity / business is funded by the federal government (ie sending teams to the Olympics), and although this is a costly undertaking, it is only part of the club. “
The Supreme Court ruled on another legal issue whether a complaint could be filed against the POA within the meaning of Article 199 (1) (c) of the Constitution: “… Article 199 (1) (c) is subject to enforcement should include the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution. In the present case, the fundamental rights invoked by the experienced counselor in this argumentation are Articles 9, 14, 17, 18 and 25 of the Constitution, all of which appear irrelevant in the present case.
We do not state that the internal functioning of the association, in particular the method of electing certain offices, robbing the right to life or liberty (Article 9 of the Constitution), violates human dignity (Article 14 of the Constitution)) restricts the law freedom of association (Article 17 of the Constitution), trade, trade or occupation (Article 18 of the Constitution) or is in any way discriminatory (Article 25 of the Constitution). We therefore do not believe that an action against the association can be upheld under Article 199 (1) (c). “
All’s well that ends well. End of Event: It is worth mentioning that the Pakistani Olympic Movement was under siege from 2012 to December 2015 as a handful of roguish sports elements under siege with the help of the Pakistan Sports Board, the Inter Provincial Coordination Committee (IPC) and some federal governments Rock on the head to destroy the fabric of the country’s sports and to invoke the wrath of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) by openly and shamelessly violating the Olympic Charter.
For the first time in the history of Pakistani sport, the fierce and dirty power struggle led by these disgruntled elements led to the formation of a parallel National Olympic Committee, many parallel National Sports Federations, the withdrawal of the 2014 Pakistani Ice Hockey from the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the forced occupation of the Olympic House in Lahore.
The Pakistani sports scenario remained murky and polluted during this period due to a rift between the Pakistan Olympic Association and the PSB. With the support of the federal government, the PSB tried to implement the National Sport Policy, according to which no leader of the National Sports Federation can have more than two terms, in the best possible way, and expected that the POA would follow suit.
However, POA leader Lt Gen (r) Syed Arif Hasan, who won a fourth term in 2016, declined to follow the PSB’s guidelines. He said the POA is an autonomous body that only follows the IOC Charter and Rules. It is no secret that the IOC does not tolerate government interference in the work of its member state, as evidenced by the Indian government’s attempts to dictate terms to the IOC that have led to a suspension of India. Despite numerous stringent IOC warnings, including the suspension of the country, these elements, PSB and IPC, continued their circus unabated and unpunished.
The unlawful and unconstitutional activities of these rouge elements led to embarrassing situations for the Pakistani sports, which deteriorated to the lowest level during this period. Finally, the IOC called on the Government of Pakistan to revise and review the conflicting issues of national sport policy in order to fully reconcile them with the basic principles and rules of the Olympic Movement or the suspension of international sport.
There was a better sense and the government finally agreed to the Olympic Charter. The POA is the mainstay of the Pakistani sports structure. The IOC’s attempt to keep the sport out of politics is the right decision, because in IOC terms this is government intervention. Many governments around the world have tried to dictate terms to the IOC in the past, but its stringent laws have always failed because of such attempts.
With the historic ruling of the Supreme Court in the first month of 2019, all doors were closed to pollute the Olympic Movement in Pakistan and to violate the Olympic Charter with the angry elements that have to grind their own ax.
