Daily Times

Justice Mansoor Ali Shah has opposed the inclusion of intelligence agencies in the process of appointing judges, cautioning against the potential misuse of such a practice.

His remarks come in a letter addressed to the Judicial Commission of Pakistan’s (JCP) secretary, ahead of a key meeting chaired by Chief Justice Yahya Afridi.

“Allowing civil intelligence agencies a say in the appointment process is prone to misuse, especially when primacy in the Commission is enjoyed by the Executive,” he wrote.

The senior puisne judge added: “[It] must be avoided. Judicial members may rely on their personal information collected from their judicial peers and otherwise.”

He suggested that the commission adopt a clear mechanism for selecting judges for constitutional benches, including evaluating the number of constitutional interpretation judgments authored by candidates. Shah criticised the commission’s past practice of forming constitutional benches without predefined criteria, noting the lack of a structured approach to such critical appointments.

He emphasised that judges’ inclusion in constitutional benches should follow measurable and fair standards.