Daily Times

The federal government has decided to bring constitutional amendment to change the ‘traditional procedure’ of judicial appointments to the Supreme Court (SC), sources said on Friday.

The decision was tabled before a meeting of Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), a body that plays a key role in appointing judges – chaired by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa.

Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar told the meeting that the government will amend the constitutional provisions and a draft of which has been finalised. According to Article 175A of the Constitution, the chief justice of Pakistan is appointed from among apex court judges on the basis of seniority. For all other appointments to the Supreme Court, Article 175A of the Constitution empowers the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) to appoint judges to the top court – in practice from among high court judges.

During the meeting, Justice Munib Akhtar inquired from the Law Minister if these amendments could potentially change the composition of the Judicial Commission. Tarar replied in affirmative. Responding to Tarar’s comment, Justice Akhtar stated that there is no need to discuss the proposed changes to the Judicial Commission rules. Meanwhile, Chief Justice Lahore High Court (LHC), Malik Shahzad, opined that the constitutional amendment will be considered when it happens but the current rules should not be wasted as “extensive work was carried out on them”. On the other hand, Justice Yahya Afridi noted that he will not provide an opinion on the proposed rules – a statement on which all JCP judges agreed.

The Chief Justice suggested delaying the discussion on the rules, but emphasised the need for more judges in the high courts. Peshawar High Court (PHC) Chief Justice expressed his opinion that the appointment of judges should be made according to the current rules. Other Chief Justices of high courts agreed with the opinion of the Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court.

The representatives of Bar Councils also expressed their opinion to postpone the discussion on the amendments in the rules, sources claimed.