Daily Times

Chairman of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) rules-making committee Justice Jamal Mandokhail, has responded to a letter written by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah. In his response, Justice Mandokhail stated that he received Justice Shah’s letter on December 12 saying that the Judicial Commission was reconstituted after the 26th Constitutional Amendment. He stated that the commission authorized the Chief Justice to form a committee for framing rules. Consequently, a committee was formed under Justice Mandokhail’s chairmanship to draft the rules. Justice Mandokhail informed Justice Shah that the committee has already held deliberations. He also stated that the suggestions proposed by Justice Shah have already been incorporated into the draft. Furthermore, Justice Mandokhail mentioned that he had shared the proposed draft with Justice Shah prior to receiving his letter. Earlier, in a letter to Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, chairman of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) rules-making committee, Justice Shah warned that the judiciary is going through one of its weakest phases in history. Justice Shah pointed out that there are no formalized rules for appointing judges to constitutional courts. This, he argued, has disturbed the vital balance in the appointment process, which has traditionally been the domain of the judiciary. The 26th Constitutional Amendment has granted a majority to the executive in the JCP, which poses grave risks to the independence of the judiciary. He warned that the absence of robust rules and criteria will allow outside influence to undermine the judiciary. This could lead to appointments that serve partisan interests rather than upholding constitutional values. He stressed that it is critical that no appointment to constitutional courts proceeds until these rules are finalized and adopted by the JCP. The senior SC judge pointed out that Clause (4) of Article 175A of the Constitution mandates the commission to make its rules of procedure, including the procedure and criteria for assessing the fitness of judges. In the absence of such rules, any proceedings undertaken by the commission for the appointment of judges would be unconstitutional.