JCP to regulate CJs’ power in appointing judges

Committee aims to regulate discretionary powers of CJs concerning appointment of judges to superior judiciary

ISLAMABAD:

A committee, formed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa to review the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) Rules from 2010, is contemplating the establishment of a committee to nominate candidates for appointment as judges in the superior courts.

Sources suggest that the committee aims to regulate the discretionary powers of chief justices concerning the appointment of judges to the superior judiciary. If approved, a nomination committee, composed of JCP members, will be designated to nominate candidates for vacant positions in the superior courts. The composition of this nomination committee is yet to be determined.

A member of the rules committee informed The Express Tribune that there is also a proposal for a medical board to assess the health and mental condition of judge nominees. To ensure timely appointments to vacant positions in high courts and the apex court, deadlines will be specified in the JCP rules.

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Candidates will engage in informal interactions with JCP members. Several proposals are under consideration to enhance the criteria for judges' appointments. The rules committee aims to finalize the amended draft of the JCP Rules, 2010, by December 29. The committee, jointly chaired by a serving Supreme Court judge, Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, and a former SC judge, Manzoor Ahmed Malik, held a meeting on Saturday.

According to a press statement that the JPC secretary issued later in the day, the committee discussed how it could propose the JCP rules which comply with "a collegial and inclusive decision-making process as enshrined in Article 175A of the Constitution". The committee also deliberated on the process of calling nominations and meetings of the commission as well as the procedure for initiating nomination for judges of the Supreme Court, high courts and the Federal Shariat Court.

“[It also discussed] representation of advocates and judicial officers in high court appointments; diversity in high court appointments; criteria for determining merit; procedure and criteria for confirmation of additional judges as well as establishing a secretariat of the commission,” it said.

According to the press release, the committee resolved to finalize the draft rules on December 29. The meeting was attended by Sindh High Court Senior Puisne Judge Nadeem Akhtar; Balochistan High Court Senior Puisne Judge Muhammad Hashim Khan Kakar; Peshawar High Court Senior Puisne Judge Ishtiaq Ibrahim and Lahore High Court Senior Puisne Judge Shehzad Ahmed Khan.

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Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan; Pakistan Bar Council representative Akhtar Hussain; Sindh Bar Council representative Zia Ul Hassan Lanjar; Balochistan Bar Council representative 8. Rahib Khan Buledi and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council representative Ahmed Farooq Khattak and Islamabad Bar Council representative Qazi Rafeuddin Babar also participated in the meeting.

At the last JCP meeting on December 4, the CJP formed the committee to define the protocols for appointing judges to the superior judiciary. According to a news report published in The Express Tribune, the committee was expected to submit its recommendations to CJP Isa by January 15.

The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) has persistently advocated for alterations in the JCP rules, proposing that the sole authority to select judges should not rest with the chief Justice of Pakistan. However, at the December 4 meeting, two JCP members, Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar, had expressed objections to the committee's formation at this juncture, especially in the absence of an elected government.

PBC member Advocate Akhtar Hussain had highlighted that judge appointments, being a policy matter, have nevertheless been executed. Stressing the urgency of filling vacant positions in high courts, Hussain had urged the expeditious framing of judge nomination regulations.