Merit-based appointments: Three years of advocacy experience sought for new civil judges

PHCBA passes joint resolution, urges its suggestions be included during hiring.

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court Bar Association (PHCBA) on Monday demanded clearing the National Testing Service test and three years of experience as a lawyer be made mandatory for the appointment of civil judges.

PHCBA passed a joint resolution demanding three members, including senior lawyers Barrister Zahoorul Haq and Abdul Latif Afridi, be included in the committee which would conduct the interviews.



Addressing a general body meeting of lawyers at the Peshawar High Court’s (PHC) premises, PHCBA President Ishtiaq Ibrahim demanded civil judges be appointed on the basis of merit and the advertisement already published for new appointments be revoked and republished with the inclusion of their demands.

Various other lawyers also criticised the current appointment procedure of civil judges.

“The post of a judge is very important for the provision of justice. Therefore, three years of experience in the field should be made mandatory and a list of the cases a candidate has conducted along with order sheets should be attached with their application form,” said former secretary general of PHCBA Qazi Jawad Ihsanullah.

Advocate Ghulam Nabi criticised the judiciary and the establishment, saying irregularities in appointments would continue to surface unless corruption was rooted out from the country.

The joint resolution was passed at the end of the meeting while a separate committee was also constituted to look into the selection process of civil judges and to work out further strategy in this regard.

Appointment details

On October 3, the PHC advertised posts for 77 civil judges, judicial magistrates and illaqa qazis, and sought applicants with the domicile of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (Fata). The application deadline was set for October 18.

The 77 posts are divided as such: 17 to merit, 10 to Zone-I, 10 to Zone-II, 11 to Zone-III, 10 to Zone-IV, 10 to Zone-V, seven for females, one for people with disabilities and one for non-Muslims. Moreover, the post is of Basic Pay Scale-18 and the age limit is set between 23-28 years.



The advertisement states: “The applicant should possess a degree in law from a recognised university entitling him/her to practice the profession of law, or is a Barrister of England or Ireland, or is a Member of the Faculty of Advocates of Scotland.”

Published in The Express Tribune, October 22^nd, 2013.