Supreme Court’s senior puisne judge Justice Mansoor Ali Shah has expressed concern over the proceedings of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) in the absence of its rules, saying that the recently-enacted 26th Constitutional Amendment has “fundamentally disturbed the vital balance in the appointments process of the judges in Pakistan”.
“The judiciary has enjoyed primacy in the appointment process of the judges in Pakistan, however, this vital balance has been fundamentally disturbed under the amendment, which now grants a majority to the executive in the commission,” he said in a letter to Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail — who heads the five-member committee designated to draft the rules.
Last week, Justice Shah — in a letter to the chief justice — sought the postponement of the JCP meeting, as numerous petitions challenging the 26th Constitutional Amendment were still pending before the apex court. However, CJP Yahya Afridi made it clear that the commission did not have the scope to discuss the 26th Constitutional Amendment.
