ISLAMABAD: A meeting of the committee tasked with amending the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) rules remained inconclusive on Wednesday. It decided to meet again after going through some proposals made by lawyers’ representatives.

Headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, the meeting was convened to consider a persistent demand of the legal fraternity that a set of criteria be laid down for nominating judges to superior courts. Lawyers’ bodies have been calling for amending the Judicial Commission of Pakistan Rules 2010.

“The meeting helped the participants understand each other’s point of view and therefore it can be called a positive development,” an informed source told Dawn.

Pakistan Bar Council’s (PBC) representative Akhtar Hussain, who had chaired a session with representatives of provincial bar councils before the meeting, suggested that the JCP take representatives of the PBC into confidence before finalising names for appointing a judge in the superior judiciary. He suggested that every JCP member be allowed to propose any name for the elevation. The final decision must, however, be made by the commission, he added.

Another suggestion made by him was that factors other than seniority be given weight in the selection process as well.

The bar councils have been emphasising for long that consultations during JCP meetings be ‘meaningful’, even though the PBC’s primary demand was “adherence to the seniority principle”.

Published in Dawn, March 10th, 2022