Following the enactment of the 26th Constitutional Amendment, the coalition government formally commenced the process of appointing new chief justice of Pakistan on Monday as a Special Parliamentary Committee was formed to pick a candidate for the top judge slot among the three senior-most apex court judges.
It is noteworthy to mention here that CJP Qazi Faez Isa is set to retire on October 25
Following the constitutional tweaks, the government is bound to fill the top judicial slot three days before the incumbent’s retirement.
In a notification issued on late Monday, the National Assembly Secretariat said that a 12-member Special Parliamentary Committee has been constituted for the appointment of next Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP).
The 12-member committee consists of eight lawmakers from treasury and four from opposition benches:
- MNA Khawaja Asif (PML-N)
- MNA Ahsan Iqbal (PML-N)
- MNA Shaista Pervaiz (PML-N)
- MNA Raja Pervaiz Ashraf (PPP)
- MNA Syed Naveed Qamar (PPP)
- MNA Rana Ansar (MQM-P)
- MNA Barrister Gohar Ali Khan (PTI)
- MNA Sahibzada Hamid Raza (SIC)
- Senator Ali Zafar (PTI)
- Senator Farooq H Naek (PPP)
- Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar (PML-N)
- Senator Kamran Murtaza (JUI-F)
The special committee will hold an in-camera sitting at the Parliament House at 4pm tomorrow (Tuesday) to decide the name of next chief justice with two-thirds majority.
The 26th Constitutional Amendment sets the CJP’s term at three years or until they reach the retirement age of 65. Additionally, the selection of the chief justice will no longer be based solely on seniority, and instead, the choice will be made among the three most senior judges of the Supreme Court.
President Asif Ali Zardari signed the bill into law on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the wee hours of Monday.
After tweaks to the Constitution’s Article 175A, a 12-member Special Parliamentary Committee will nominate the new chief justice out of three senior-most judges of the Supreme Court.
The recommendation would be considered final after the committee agrees on a name for the coveted judiciary post with a two-thirds majority.
Over the committee’s recommendation, the prime minister will send the nomination to the president for final approval.
This is a developing story and is being updated with further details.
