Ministry seeks CJ’s guidance on LJCP appointment

Informs top judge there is a conflict between law and justice commission’s rules


Hasnaat Malik November 23, 2020
Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed. PHOTO COURTESY: SUPREME COURT

ISLAMABAD:

The Federal Ministry of Law has sought guidance from the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan (LJCP) chairman to remove an apparent conflict between the relevant law and the LJCP rules governing appointment of the LJCP secretary.

The LJCP – a federal government institution established under an Ordinance (XIV) of 1979 – has a critical role in policymaking and legislative reforms. It is headed by the chief justice of Pakistan – a position currently held by Justice Gulzar Ahmed.

The commission also comprises the chief justices of the Federal Shariat Court and provincial high courts, Attorney General for Pakistan, Ministry of Law secretary, Justice and Human Rights and the National Commission on the Status of Women chairperson and four other members, one from each province.

The LJCP secretary is a grade-21 post. The contract of the incumbent secretary, Dr Raheem Awan, is expiring next month. An official in the law ministry told The Express Tribune that the LJCP has written a letter to the ministry for advertising the post of the secretary on contract basis for a period of three years.

“It also shared details of the qualification and experience of the eligible candidates. However, the ministry pointed out an ambiguity in the process for appointment of the LJCP secretary,” he adds.

The ministry noted a conflict between the rule and the law related to the appointment of the secretary.

The LJCP ordinance says, "The commission shall have a separate secretariat to be headed by a secretary, who shall be an officer of the federal government not inferior in rank to a joint secretary to the federal government" However, the LJCP rule says appointment to the post shall be made by the chairman.

The official said the law ministry has pointed out that there is a conflict between statute and rule and has sought the CJ’s guidance on the issue.

He said the LJCP initiated the process for appointment of a new secretary in view of the rule. Senior lawyers said if the statute is followed then only a government servant can be appointed to the post.

However, two previous LJCP secretaries were appointed by the chairman, in accordance with the rules, which were framed in 1992. The ministry’s letter has sparked a debate as to whether the rule or the statute should prevail in this matter.

Some legal experts said the statute always prevails over the rule, if a conflict arises.

As to the argument that the previous two secretaries were appointed in view of the rule, the lawyer said that same was the situation when the government extended tenure of army chief Qmar Javed Bajwa.

They said the apex court had rejected the past precedent and ordered the government to do appropriate legislation on extension of an army chief’s tenure.

The official of the law ministry said the LJCP has made some changes in the qualification criterion for the post of the secretary. The new criterion says a person holding a higher foreign research degree in law with expertise in report writing shall be preferred.

Interestingly, the incumbent secretary, Raheem Awan, meets this criteria and therefore it is alleged that he himself added this condition. The LJCP has also increased the contract period from two to three year.

According to the sources, three joint secretaries are working in the LJCP in grade-20. It is not clear as to why one of them is not being promoted to the post of the secretary.

Some senior lawyers said transparency should be ensured in the appointment of LJCP secretary. They also demanded that former Supreme Court judge Khalilur Rehman Ramday’s recommendations about restructuring of the LJCP should be implemented.

In the past, the Senate had called for restructuring the LJCP and formed a committee in this regard. However, the incumbent secretary had strongly resisted this idea before the Senate committee.

The repositioning of the LJCP is imperative for effective implementation of its expansive mandate.

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