No Supreme Court judge in JCP panels for vetting high court judges

ISLAMABAD: In a notable shift from Pakistan’s traditional judicial appointment process, the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) has constituted separate interview committees to assess candidates for appointment as additional judges in four high courts, with no Supreme Court judge included in any of the panels.

A notification issued on Wednesday under Rule 10A of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (Appointment of Judges) Rules, 2024, and approved by the Chief Justice of Pakistan in his capacity as JCP chairperson, directs the committees to interview candidates nominated up to July 4, 2026, for the Lahore, Islamabad, Sindh and Balochistan High Courts.

The committees will instead comprise judges from the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) and the respective high courts. FCC Judge Syed Hassan Azhar Rizvi will head the seven-member panels for the Lahore High Court and Islamabad High Court.

Other members include Lahore High Court Chief Justice Aalia Neelum, Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar, Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan, Senators Farooq H. Naek and Syed Ali Zafar, and Supreme Court Bar Association representative Muhammad Ahsan Bhoon.

FCC Judge Aamer Farooq will chair the committees for the Sindh and Balochistan High Courts. The Sindh panel includes Sindh High Court Chief Justice Zafar Ahmed Rajput, while the Balochistan panel features Balochistan High Court Chief Justice Muhammad Kamran Khan Malakhail.

The remaining members are identical across both committees.

The development follows delays in judicial appointments after the 27th Constitutional Amendment empowered the JCP to formulate rules governing the assessment, interviews and evaluation of judicial candidates.

According to sources, the JCP’s Rule-Making Committee debated multiple proposals in May before adopting Senator Farooq H. Naek’s recommendation to have seven-member committees conduct interviews and submit recommendations to the full commission. Alternative proposals, including interviews by the entire JCP and a smaller five-member committee, were not adopted.