Judges’ appointment: AGP declines to attend key judicial commission meeting

Irfan Qadir says commission not properly constituted.

ISLAMABAD:

Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Irfan Qadir has refused to attend the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) meeting on judges’ appointment, which is scheduled for Saturday (today).

AGP Qadir sent a letter to Secretary JCP, Dr Faqir Hussain, who is also the Supreme Court Registrar, through his secretary on Friday to convey his decision.

“This is to convey to you that the Attorney General for Pakistan shall not be attending tomorrow’s meeting of the Judicial Commission in view of the fact that the Judicial Commission is not properly constituted, since the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) has not sent the name of any senior lawyer for being a member of the Judicial Commission,” the letter stated.

The attorney general also attached PBC’s November 7, 2012 resolution, in which lawyers refused to nominate their representative for the JCP until their reservations regarding the commission’s proceedings are addressed. PBC has also demanded that every member should have the right to nominate a judge.

Presenting his arguments in the presidential reference filed in the Islamabad High Court judges’ case in December, AGP Qadir had contended before the Supreme Court that the judicial commission’s proceedings regarding the appointment of judges of superior courts should be made public, as the general impression was that those close to a certain section of the present judiciary are elevated.

The attorney general said, “JCP should ensure equal opportunity for all the qualified lawyers and senior judges from the subordinate judiciary for elevation to the high court, and similarly amongst the judges of high courts to the Supreme Court.”



“The manner in which the JCP is functioning, the bar councils and the Supreme Court Bar Association have serious reservations, and reservations of these superior bars are a sad reflection on the performance of JCP,” AGP Qadir added.

Likewise, the counsel for the federation had also stated that the commission members were not politicians and there was no need to hold its proceeding in-camera. He had added that every member of the commission should have the right to initiate the names of nominees.

Later, the apex court adjourned the contempt of court case against President Asif Ali Zardari in the appointment of Islamabad High Court judges’ case.

The attorney general also requested the court to adjourn the government’s review petition in the case for an indefinite period, which was accepted by the court.

Justice Khilji Arif Hussain also observed that the apex court’s orders regarding the reappointment of two judges at the Islamabad High Court have been implemented.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 19^th, 2013.