Appointing judges: ‘Bar should be consulted for transparency’

Appointing judges without consulting will not reflect transparency and harmony, says SHC Bar Association.

KARACHI: Appointing judges to the superior or subordinate judiciary without consulting the relevant bar associations would not reflect transparency and harmony between the bar and bench, said a resolution unanimously adopted by the Sindh High Court Bar Association mananging committee here on Thursday at the end of its term of office for the year 2010.

The association is going to elect its new body on Saturday. According to the resolution, the association sincerely believes that the independence of the judiciary can only be secured when there are honest and competent judges and an independent bar. “Vacancies in the subordinate courts and in the Sindh High Court should be filled as early as possible and in the most transparent manner,” said the resolution. The bar associations should also be consulted when judges are confirmed or fresh appointments made.

Burying differences and the Sindh High Court Bar Association’s rigid stand against judges who took oath under the Provisional Constitutional Order II of 2007 in the Musharraf regime, the resolution said that: “This bar association is also of the considered view that those judges who were appointed after the restoration of the civil government in the month of March 2008 and who enjoy a good reputation as judges and who stood retired as a consequence of the Superme Court decision dated July 31, 2009, may also be considered for future appointments on a permanent basis”.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 26^th, 2010.