PBC member wants nomination criteria to be disclosed

Urges council to amend rules and ensure selection of bar representatives in JCP is non-partisan

ISLAMABAD: A member of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) has called on the lawyers’ body to urge the superior judiciary to disclose to them the criteria used for nominating high court judges.

In a letter addressed to all 22 members of the council, Raheel Kamran Sheikh has also called for amending PBC rules so that representatives of the bar in the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) are selected in a non-partisan and non-controversial manner, with the support of two-thirds of council members.

An important PBC meeting is set to take place on April 15, wherein council members will both select new representatives for JCP and take up the issue of transparency in the nomination of high court judges.

Presently, Yasin Azad is the PBC representative in JCP and his tenure in this position is set to end next month. Azad has represented the superior bar in the commission since 2010.



Raheel, in his letter, also suggested that the superior bars should demand JCP appoint judicial officers from the district judiciary to at least a third of the available high court slots. He said the appointments should be based on performance – the number of cases decided by the officer in question and upheld by the superior judiciary – rather than seniority.

The PBC member also asked the council to devise a feedback process that can constructively contribute to the process of confirmation of additional judges of the high courts.

Raheel also proposed the PBC representatives for JCP be asked to provide an undertaking that they shall not appear and represent any party before an additional high court judge.