ISLAMABAD: The third meeting of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) is expected to be held just after Eidul Azha holidays to nominate two Supreme Court judges and 40 high courts, including the Islamabad High Court chief justice.
According to sources in the JCP, the meeting would discuss nominations for two SC judges to replace Justice Rahmat Hussain Jafferi, who will be attaining the age of superannuation on November 20 and Justice Chaudhry Ijaz Ahmed, who retired on May 5 after attaining the age of superannuation.
The meeting is also expected to decide the fate of 32 additional judges of the four high courts, who have completed their tenure but continue to function because of the stay granted by the SC during the pendency of petitions challenging the 18th Amendment.
The meeting will also discuss appointment of a chief justice and seven judges in the Islamabad High Court, which is likely to start functioning on December 13. On May 11, the National Assembly had adopted a bill for the setting up of a seven-judge IHC under the 18th Amendment.
The IHC was originally set up through an ordinance under the November 3, 2007 emergency proclamation, but ceased to exist after the SC declared the emergency unconstitutional.
A notification for the setting up of the IHC had already been issued and the four provinces and FATA would be given representation in the IHC as judges to deal with the issues exclusively pertaining to the federal capital.
According to the rules approved by the commission in its first meeting on November 6, the chief justice of Pakistan will initiate nominations for appointment of judges in the SC or chief justices in the Federal Shariat Court and high courts.
The nominations will be discussed by a yet to be established eight-member Parliamentary Committee. Four members from the Senate (two each from the treasury and the opposition) and two opposition members from the National Assembly have been appointed for the committee.
However, the government has yet to appoint two members from the treasury benches in the National Assembly. According to Law Minister Babar Awan, the eight-member Parliamentary Committee will be functional after the Eid holidays.
Senator Kazim Khan, who is also Pakistan Bar Council vice-chairman, and Senator Nayyar Bokhari will represent the government, while PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and PML-N’s Ishaq Dar will represent the opposition in the committee.
Sardar Mehtab Abbasi of the PML-N and Ghaus Bux Mehar of the PML-Q will represent the opposition from the National Assembly.
