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CIVIL PROCEDURE CODE , 1908, LL.B. PART III

TOPIC: An Introduction to CPC, 26th of Sep,2016
Presented by: SM Zarkoon, Lecturer,
B.Sc. LL.B. LL.M. {Criminology & Law of Evidence}
University Law College Khojjak Road Quetta.
Email: lawyer.21st@yahoo.com Ph.# 081-2843053

Question: Where Do All Rules of Civil Procedure Come From, anyway?

The study of civil procedure is the study of rules. There are rules for everything: such as

Who can sue?

How to Sue?
Who can be sued?
How Trials are conducted?
Even, what kind of papers must be used for Court Fillings?

As we have learned many rules during our academic years , in Pakistan come either from
statutes --- laws passed by Parliament or Laws regulated by Provincial Assemblies—or case
law, which consists of rules created by judges in deciding previous cases.
However it is interesting that Pakistan being part of British rule, whereof many laws were
passed by British Parliament and Civil Procedure Code is the collection of rules accumulated
by before partition and was enforced in the entire subcontinent.
Historical Background:
The code of civil procedure is the Act, V of 1908, was enacted on 21 st of March, 1908. Its
purpose being to consolidate and amend the laws relating to the procedure of courts of civil
judicature.
Prior to this enactment three times Code of Civil procedure held the filed:
Firstly: Code of Civil Procedure 1859 [Act, VIII of 1859] as amended in 1860, 1861 and 1874,
Secondly: Code of Civil Procedure 1877 (Act X of 1877) as amended in 1878 and 1879.
Thirdly: Code of Civil Procedure 1882 (Act XIV, 1882) as amended in 1882, 1883, 1892, 1894
and 1895.
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The Code regulates civil proceedings involving the assertion or enforcement of civil rights.
[ PLD 1970 S.C. 1]
The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 has two parts. Procedural and Substantive. Procedure parts
of CPC is that portion which is meant for the process of litigation i.e. The mechanism as to
how to proceed with the trial of the case, as series of sections or steps to be taken by the
Courts and the litigant in order to achieve the conclusion of the matter.
In other words the various steps which are expedient for the purpose of proceedings with the
trial of the case at its different stages to as to reach at a just conclusion, excluding the portion
of CPC which purely deals with process of litigation the remaining part of CPC falls within the
category of substantive law. [ PLD. 2014 S.C. ]

SOURCES CPC :
1. Statutes: Because legislatures are continually adding new laws and amending ad
repealing old ones, sets of statutes might be supplemented, usually after some times.
Statute research is never complete until you have checked the supplements~.

2. Case Law: reported opinions of judges in actual lawsuits--- is found in huge sets of books

called reporters, such as MLDs, PLDs, Cr.M.L.J. etc. Certainly some procedural law comes
form statutes and case. However the primary source of legislation in Pakistan is court
rules, Judges, often with the help of committees of attorneys and scholars, adopt their
own rules for the conduct of cases.

3. Rules framed by The High Courts:

The statutes have also empowered courts to frame under Chapter X of the Civil Procedure
Code.
The re-arrangement of the Code into “body of the Code” and “Rules” is for the purpose of
giving a much needed elasticity to judicial procedure, and to enable minor defects to be
remedied, as they arise, without resort to the Legislation [1984 CLC 582]
Powers have been granted to High Court to make rules to regulate its own procedure in
exercise of its original jurisdiction as it shall think fit. Limitation on High court that such
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Rules shall not be inconsistent with its Letters Patent would not mean that hey could not
be inconsistent with Code of Civil Procedure , 1908. [1989 MLD 502 ]