Fresh crisis brewing?: Qadir, Naek skip CJ-led commission meeting

Attorney general boycotts meeting over PBC’s concerns.

ISLAMABAD:

Attorney General Irfan Qadir, Law Minister Farooq H Naek and the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) were notably absent at a meeting of the Judicial Commission on Judges’ Appointment on Saturday, a development that may spark off a new crisis.

A judicial officer told The Express Tribune that the meeting of the commission, which is headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, was adjourned till January 26 since the Sindh High Court Bar’s representative could not participate in the meeting due to the non-issuance of a notification of his nomination.

Responding to a question, the official said that the boycott of attorney general and others would not affect the proceedings since a quorum is not mentioned in the constitution.

Another official, however, said that some more recommendations from high courts were received by the commission due to which meeting was adjourned.

He too said that as per the constitution, a JCP is only bound to forward recommendations of a majority of the members to the parliamentary committee and the boycott of some members would not affect proceedings.

An official said that the law minister excused himself from attending the meeting, citing his visit to Sindh as the reason.



On the other hand, Attorney General Qadir cited the PBC’s concerns for his refusal to attend the judicial commission’s meeting. Qadir sent a letter to the commission’s secretary, Dr Faqir Hussain, stating, “This is to convey to you that the attorney general 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 has not sent the name of any senior lawyer for being a member of the judicial commission.”

With his letter, the attorney general has also attached the PBC’s November 7, 2012, resolution, in which lawyers have refused to nominate their representative for the JCP until their reservations regarding the commission’s proceedings were addressed. The 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, Qadir had contended 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, “The 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.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 20^th, 2013.