JCP meets today amid criticism

Commission set to consider elevations from different high courts amid calls for postponement, amendments in laws

ISLAMABAD:

Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial has summoned the meeting of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) to consider the names of high court judges for their appointment as apex court judges on Thursday (today).

The five judges of the high courts would be considered for the Supreme Court. The JCP is responsible for approving the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court and five high courts of the country. The CJP also heads the commission as its chairman.

The body comprises of four senior-most judges of the SC, the former judge, a federal law minister, the attorney general for Pakistan and a senior advocate nominated by the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC).

One representative each is nominated by the provincial and Islamabad bar councils. According to Article 175-A of the Constitution, the JCP, after confirmation, will propose the names to the parliamentary committees for the appointment of judges in the superior courts.

Controversy and rising criticisms

It is noteworthy that the anticipated JCP meeting had earned vehement criticisms from within the legal fraternity that smells “favouritism” in the appointments and has demanded a restructuring of the laws pertaining to appointments of the judges and the discretionary powers enjoyed by the CJP.

A day earlier, senior puisne judge of the Supreme Court Justice Qazi Faez Isa had advised CJP Umar Ata Bandial not to bulldoze the “due” process for appointment of more than one-third of the total number of judges in the apex court.

In a letter written to the Judicial Commission of Pakistan, headed by CJP Bandial, Justice Isa deplored the manner of summoning the JCP’s meeting to consider the elevation of high court judges to the Supreme Court.

READ Justice Isa pens letter against CJP Bandial's summoning of JCP meeting

Justice Isa said it was surprising that the JCP’s meeting had been convened to consider the appointment of five SC judges during summer vacations. Justice Isa stated in the letter that “while on my annual leave I received a Whatsapp message from the Additional Registrar of the Supreme Court informing me that the Hon’ble Chief Justice of Pakistan has convened a meeting of the JCP on 28 July 2022 to consider appointing five judges to the SC.

“When availing of annual leave no meeting of the JCP was scheduled but as soon as I left Pakistan the CJP decided to hold two meetings of the JCP to consider appointments to the Sindh and Lahore High Courts, and now a third unscheduled meeting of the JCP is to be held during the summer vacations of the SC.

He stressed the need that “all appointments must be made in accordance with the Constitution, on the basis of predetermined and non-discriminatory criteria. And above all without any impression of favouritism. The Constitution does not grant the CJP any powers additional to those of the other members of the JCP; the CJP is only designated as the Chairman of the JCP.”

It is pertinent to note that the JCP meeting was held on June 28, a day after Justice Isa’s three-page letter criticised the meeting and called for its postponement until the scheduled vacations of the court were over.

Amendment in Article 175-A sought

Similarly, superior bar associations from across the country on Wednesday strongly opposed the elevation of junior judges of the high courts to the Supreme Court.

A joint meeting of the representatives of the SCBAP, high court bar associations of all the provinces, PBC and members of bar councils to the JCP demanded amendments in Article 175-A and Article 209 of the Constitution in order to unify the forum for appointment and removal of judges and to make it more inclusive and comprising equal representation of all the stakeholders (i.e. judges, bar, executive and the parliament).

Likewise, former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association Hamid Khan and other leaders of lawyers’ professional group have also strongly opposed the JCP's move to ignore the seniority policy in elevating judges to the apex court.

Khan regretted that chief justices of the high courts were being ignored by the JCP and the Supreme Court was being filled with junior judges on personal preferences.