SJC forms panel to review judges' code

The Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) has appointed senior Supreme Court judge Munib Akhtar as head of a committee that will propose amendments in the judges' code of conduct.

The committee will also propose the procedure for conducting inquiry against superior court judges.

A meeting of the SJC—the constitutional forum that can hold superior court judges accountable—was held under the chairmanship of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJ) Justice Yahya Afridi on Friday.

The meeting was attended by senior most SC judges—Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Munib Akhtar, Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Aamir Farooq and Balochistan High Court Chief Justice Muhammad Hashim Kakar.

The council discussed the agenda regarding amendments in the Code of Conduct of Judges under Article 209(8) of the Constitution and the SJC Procedure of Enquiry 2005. It constituted a committee headed by Justice Akhtar to propose amendments in the code of conduct and procedure of enquiry.

The SJC also examined 35 complaints under Article 209 of the Constitution filed by different individuals.

"Out of which 30 complaints were filed whereas comments in 5 complaints were sought," said a statement issued by the Office of SC Registrar.