Islamabad:
With the 26th constitutional amendment at stake, the Executive has seized the reins of the judicial appointments, feeding the concerns of the “judicial packaging” in the superior judiciary.
The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) has been reconstituted under the controversial constitutional adjustment, changing the balance of power firmly in favor of the government, which now calls the shots in judicial selections.
Decisions are now taken by the majority of voting, giving the Executive a free hand to shape the Judiciary.
This is a strong deviation from past practices as previously, under amendment 18, most within the JCP consisted of judges, ensuring greater judicial independence.
However, the current PML-N alignment, PPP and the Independent Group of the Pakistan Bar Association has led a unified front within the commission, ensuring a candle without problems for the government’s judicial elections, with the blessing of ‘ powerful circles’.
Until now, the JCP has approved the appointments of 12 judges for the Superior Court of Sindh (SHC), three before the Superior Court of Baluchistan and two to the Superior Court of Islamabad (IHC). The judges have also been selected for constitutional banks in the Supreme Court and the SHC.
Legal experts believe that the government has successfully installed most of its favorite judges in the SHC and IHC. However, judicial members within the JCP remain divided.
In particular, Judge Aminuddin Khan, a JCP member, did not support the proposal of the President of the Supreme Court of Pakistan (CJP) of Yahya Afridi to nominate all the judges of the Apex Court for the Constitutional Bank. On the other hand, with the support of the executives and the representatives of the bar, it became the first head of the Constitutional Bank.
The next JCP meeting, scheduled for February 1, will consider the nominations for the judges of the Superior Court of Peshawar, followed by a session on February 7 to review the nominations of the Superior Court of Lahore.
In addition, on February 11, the Commission will appoint eight judges of the Supreme Court, a process that is expected to once again favor the nominees backed by the Executive.
Meanwhile, it was learned that one or two judges of the provincial higher courts could soon be transferred to the IHC to facilitate the appointment of a new president of the Supreme Court of IHC after the expected elevation of the current IHC CJ Aamer Faooq to the Superior Court.
The Executive is expected to guarantee that a nominated with related ideas take the position.
The Government continues to disturb about six IHC judges who previously wrote to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), seeking guidance on the alleged interference of the agency in judicial functions with respect to high profile cases. None of these judges are expected to be considered for the next president of the IHC Supreme Court.
Before the amendment 26, the president of the Supreme Court played a dominant role in the judicial appointment process, a system established under the 18th constitutional amendment.
