ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Tuesday announced that it would issue its judgement on multiple petitions challenging certain aspects of the 18th Amendment on October 21, including the definition of the exact contours of its authority to review the mechanism approved by parliament for appointment of judges.
Earlier on September 30, a 17-judge full court of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry had reserved its verdict after more than four months of hearing. According to a Supreme Court statement, notices have been issued to all parties concerned.
As many as 16 petitions, including those by the Supreme Court Bar Association, J Salik, Ijazul Haq, members of the civil society and Abdul Hafeez Pirzada, challenged certain provisions of the 18th Amendment, especially the formation of a judicial commission and a parliamentary committee to appoint judges to the superior courts under Article 175A.
The court had started hearing on the petitions on May 24 and discussed all aspects of the amendment under contention, especially the new mechanism for appointing judges under Article 175-A which, according to the petitioners, impinged on the independence of judiciary.
Barrister Waseem Sajjad, Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq, Additional Attorney General KK Agha and around 15 lawyers of the federation, as well as advocates general of all provinces had defended the 18th Amendment.
Shahid Hamid had represented the Punjab government, whereas Punjab Advocate General Khawaja Haris had appeared in his personal capacity.
