Judges’ appointment panel: Wrangle for the top slot fizzles out

Chaudhary Shujaat’s suggestion to keep the appointment of chairman of the committee on rotation basis rejected.

After initial wrangling, the parliamentary committee tasked to scrutinise the appointment of judges in the superior courts has picked a Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) member as its chairperson, quashing fears that the newly established constitutional body might crash before taking off.

Syed Nayyer Hussain Bukhari, who has unanimously been chosen to head the eight-member bi-partisan parliamentary committee, is the Leader of the House in the Senate.

In a meeting on Wednesday, the body also endorsed last month’s nomination of Ejaz Chaudhry by the Judicial Commission for the office of chief justice of the Lahore High Court (LHC).

The 18th constitutional amendment that was passed by Parliament early this year envisages formation of two separate panels — one each of parliamentarians and technocrats — to regulate the appointment of judges in the superior judiciary.

The judicial commission, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, last month held its maiden meeting to nominate Justice Ejaz as a replacement for outgoing LHC chief justice Khawaja Muhammad Sharif.

Wednesday’s meeting was the second of the parliamentary committee. The first session was marred by differences among its members over who should head the committee.

PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain had proposed that the chairmanship be rotated and every member should head the committee for a specific period. But the idea couldn’t find supporters and, some members said, Hussain didn’t even press his proposal on Wednesday.

The committee’s chairmanship might not be of any significance after the mechanism for judges’ appointment is further changed in the light of a Supreme Court order, possibly next month.

The new criterion is set to give the chief justice the final say in the appointment of judges and the role of the parliamentary committee would then become symbolic.

That is why, the meeting participants told journalists, the chairmanship was offered to Hussain and another member but both of them rejected it.

The committee also finalised Terms of References, according to which the committee will be reconstituted after every election to the National Assembly and the Senate.

The committee will make decisions regarding the names recommended by the judicial commission for appointment as judges within 14 days.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 25th, 2010.