ISLAMABAD:
A meeting of the National Judicial Commission (NJC) convened for the appointment of judges on Saturday was postponed owing to the fact that the new federal law minister has not yet been sworn in.
Senator Maula Bux Chandio arrived at the meeting of the NJC and informed its members that he was unable to attend since had not yet sworn an oath of office. He was congratulated on his appointment by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, the commission’s chairman and left soon afterwards.
This left the NJC without representation from the federal government and thus the meeting was postponed until April 23.
The NJC had been scheduled to take up the matter of the extension in the appointments of 21 additional judges on the Balochistan and Lahore High Courts. The matter is now likely to be taken up at the next meeting.
Chandio was appointed law minister after his predecessor, Babar Awan, resigned to take up the president’s reference on the Zulfikar Ali Bhutto hanging case in the Supreme Court. Awan was forbidden from appearing in court while still being a cabinet member.
The NJC is a constitutional body charged with nominating judges for appointments to the higher judiciary and consists of nine members, including the chief justice, the law minister, the attorney general, a member of the Pakistan Bar Council, four senior judges of the Supreme Court and one retired senior judge.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 17th, 2011.
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