In a first, CJP holds rare consultation with bar

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa and Senior Puisne Judge Sardar Tariq Masood held discussions with members of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) and the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) on Wednesday, primarily to seek their input with regard to disposal of cases.

In this regard, the SC registrar had written a letter to members of the PBC and the SCBA, inviting them to meet CJP Isa and Justice Masood today.

“You will be informed of the expectations the Supreme Court has of you.

“The meeting will also provide you with an opportunity to make suggestions to improve the disposal rate of accumulated cases, determine the kinds of cases to be prioritized, make the Supreme Court efficient and administration of justice transparent,” the letter seen by The Express Tribune says.

This is the first time a CJP invited representatives of the superior bars for a discussion. Independent Lawyers Group is in majority at the PBC while Professional Lawyers Group is dominant at the SCBA.

Meanwhile, the PBC representative in the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), Akhtar Hussain, has urged the new CJP to notify a committee led by Senior Puisne Judge Sardar Tariq Masood for evolving criteria regarding the appointment of superior courts judges.

Read Justice Isa makes history on his first day

The CJP is also chairman of the JCP, the constitutional forum responsible for elevation and promotion of superior court judges. Before his retirement, former CJP Gulzar Ahmed had formed a five-member committee led by his successor Umar Ata Bandial.

Other members of the committee were Justice (retd) Maqbool Baqar, Justice (retd) Sarmad Jalal Osmani, former attorney general for Pakistan Khalid Javed Khan and PBC member Akhtar Hussain.
Interestingly, the committee held only one meeting in which it was decided that deliberations would continue to evolve objective criteria for elevation of judges.

When Justice Bandial became the CJP, he did not notify Justice Isa as head of the committee.

However, he shared the outcomes of the first meeting with all JCP members through a summary.

The summary had concluded that all committee members while discussing the criteria for judges’ appointment had unanimously agreed on four qualities—competence, integrity, capacity and temperament. Currently, there are two judicial vacancies in the Supreme Court (SC).

It is expected that CJP Isa will evolve the criteria by amending the JCP rules. One judge is likely to be elevated from the Sindh High Court while the other may belong to the Lahore High Court (LHC) or the Balochistan High Court (BHC).