SHCBA slams audio release of JCP meeting

Bar leaders caution against removing veil of confidentiality

KARACHI:

The Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA) expressed its disappointment on Sunday at the proceedings and aftermath of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) meeting of July 28, 2022 regarding new appointments in the Supreme Court.

In a statement, SHCBA President Shahab Sarki and Honorary Secretary Muhammad Omer Soomro said that the association particularly condemned the release of the audio recordings of the JCP meeting without the prior consent of each and every member.

It appeared that when the chief justice's nominees failed to gather a majority of votes, the meeting was abruptly aborted without a formal vote-taking or recording of the result, according the statement. This led to immediate verbal protests by some of the members followed by written protests.

“Eventually [this] culminated in the Chief Justice's decision to release the entire audio recording proceedings of the meeting," the SHCBA said. “Comments made by JCP members under expectation of confidentiality … should not be released without consulting them,” it added.

The statement pointed out that by removing the veil of confidentiality, the JCP members – especially those who were not judges and might have to appear before the same judges, would be discouraged from speaking their minds freely and frankly.

According to the statement, many opinions were expressed in the course of such confidential meetings, which could be tentative or based on second-hand information or a participant might change their opinion after discussions with others.

However, it added that by releasing the full audio recordings in this manner – a stigma might be created around the reputation of the candidates and it might “dissuade many excellent, self-respecting candidates from even allowing their names to be considered for the judiciary”.

“As such, this Bar Association calls upon the Hon'ble Chief Justice of Pakistan to act as the pater familias and move towards healing the divisions in his institutions by taking all his peers on board so that these unseemly disputes can be averted in future.”