Pakistan Judicial Commission Excludes Supreme Court Judges from High Court Vetting Panels

In a significant shift from established judicial practice, Pakistan's Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) has established distinct interview committees to evaluate candidates for additional judge positions in four high courts. Strikingly, none of the committees include a Supreme Court judge, a departure from previous norms.

The notification, issued on Wednesday and approved by the Chief Justice of Pakistan, invokes Rule 10A of the JCP (Appointment of Judges) Rules, 2024. The committees are tasked with interviewing candidates nominated until July 4, 2026, for the Lahore High Court (LHC), Islamabad High Court (IHC), Sindh High Court (SHC), and Balochistan High Court (BHC).

The composition of these committees draws judicial strength primarily from the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) or the respective high courts. For the LHC and IHC, a seven-member panel chaired by FCC Judge Syed Hassan Azhar Rizvi includes LHC Chief Justice Aalia Neelum, IHC Chief Justice Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar, Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan, Senators Farooq Hamid Naek and Syed Ali Zafar, and Supreme Court Bar Association representative Muhammad Ahsan Bhoon.

This development occurs against a backdrop of prolonged delays in judicial appointments across various high courts. These delays stemmed from the absence of updated rules following the 27th Constitutional Amendment, which granted the JCP the authority to frame its own procedures and criteria for judge appointments. Discussions within the JCP's Rule-Making Committee involved proposals such as the full JCP interviewing candidates or a smaller committee conducting preliminary interviews, with the current notification reflecting a specific approach to streamline the vetting process.