ISLAMABAD:
Three important judicial forums – the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) and the Supreme Court committee on Practice and Procedure Act (PAPA) – have been reconstituted in view of the 27th Constitutional Amendment.
According to a notification issued by the Supreme Court on Tuesday, two judges of the newly formed Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi, have been appointed to the JCP and the SJC.
The JCP is the constitutional body that elevates judges to the higher courts
The SJC is the forum that hears complaints filed against high court judges for alleged misconduct, while the PAPA committee of the Supreme Court forms tribunals and enumerates cases.
Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail has also been appointed to the SJC, but has not been included in the JCP.
Justice Mandokhail was a member of the PCJ formed under the 26th Constitutional Amendment.
The notification stated that in accordance with the principles of transparency and institutional continuity, Justice Mandokhail, Senior Justice of the Supreme Court, has been appointed for two years as a member of the PCJ under Article 209(2)(d).
The nomination was made jointly by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi and FCC Chief Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan.
The SJC is headed by Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, while other members include Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi and the two senior chief justices.
According to the SC notification, Justice Aamer Farooq, FCC judge, has been appointed to the JCP for two years, through a joint decision of CJP Afridi and CJ Khan.
Under the amended Article 175A(2), subclause (3A), a judge, whether of the FCC or the Supreme Court, must be jointly nominated by the CJ of the FCC and the Chief Justice of Pakistan for a term of two years.
Speaking to The Express PAkGazette, lawyer Hafiz Ehsan Khokhar said that both the CJP and the FCC Chief Justice have the authority to jointly nominate a member.
CJP Yahya Afridi also heads the PCJ.
Other members include Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi, the federal law minister, the attorney general, a lawyer appointed by the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC), two members of the National Assembly and the Senate representing the government and the opposition, and a woman nominated by the speaker of the National Assembly.
CJP Afridi also nominated Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail as a member of the PAPA Committee.
The notification stated that with the reconstitution of these bodies, they will continue to play a central role (under the amended constitutional framework) in accountability, judicial appointments and governance of judicial proceedings.
The PML-N-led government introduced major changes to the country’s judicial system, first through the 26th Constitutional Amendment, which was passed by parliament in October 2024, and then through the 27th Constitutional Amendment, passed amid opposition protests on November 12, 2025.
The 26th amendment had changed the composition of the JCP, allowing the executive to have more say in the appointment of judges and also dividing the SC into regular and constitutional courts.
