Supreme Court Judges Absent from Judicial Commission Panels Assessing High Court Judge Candidates

Islamabad – In a notable shift from tradition, the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) has issued separate directives to establish interview committees for vetting candidates for additional judges in the Lahore, Islamabad, Sindh, and Balochistan High Courts, with no Supreme Court judge serving on any of the panels.

The directive, released on Wednesday and cited by Dawn, cites Rule 10A of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (Appointment of Judges) Rules 2024 and has been approved by the JCP chairperson, the Chief Justice of Pakistan.

Each committee is required to interview nominees by July 4 2026 for the Lahore, Islamabad, Sindh, and Balochistan High Courts.

Although the panels differ slightly in their judicial composition, all draw their members from the Federal Constitutional Court or the relevant high courts, deliberately excluding the Supreme Court.

The Lahore and Islamabad High Courts each receive a seven‑member panel. FCC Judge Syed Hassan Azhar Rizvi chairs both committees. Panel members comprise LHC Chief Justice Aalia Neelum, IHC Chief Justice Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar, Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan, Senators Farooq Hamid Naek and Syed Ali Zafar, and Supreme Court Bar Association representative Muhammad Ahsan Bhoon.

For the Sindh High Court, FCC Judge Aamer Farooq serves as chair. The panel also features LHC Chief Justice Aalia Neelum, SHC Chief Justice Zafar Ahmed Rajput, the Attorney General, the two Senators, and Muhammad Ahsan Bhoon.

The Balochistan High Court follows the same structure, with Justice Aamer Farooq as chair and BHC Chief Justice Muhammad Kamran Khan Malakhail taking the place of the Sindh chief justice among the members. All other members remain unchanged.

This notification arrives amid prolonged vacancies in the high courts, which had been delayed by the lack of updated rules after the 27th Constitutional Amendment.

The amendment granted the commission authority to devise its own procedural rules, encompassing assessment, interview, evaluation, and fitness criteria for judicial appointments.

Sources indicated that the JCP’s Rule‑Making Committee convened on May 6 to discuss appointment criteria and procedures. Attendees included Justice Aamer Farooq, Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan, Senators Naek and Zafar, and bar representative Muhammad Ahsan Bhoon.

It emerged that Senator Zafar advocated for the full JCP to interview each candidate at the time of nomination, whereas Senator Naek proposed that a seven‑member sub‑committee conduct interviews beforehand and present recommendations to the commission. The final notification reflects Naek’s approach.

Sources added that Bhoon had suggested a five‑member panel consisting of two judges from the FCC or the Supreme Court, a parliamentarian, the Attorney General, and a Pakistan Bar Council representative; this proposal was not adopted as originally formulated.

Source link