Govt shares draft of proposed 26th Amendment

ISLAMABAD: The government shared on Saturday a draft of the proposed 26th constitutional amendment with various political parties.

According to the draft which has outlined the significant changes to the judicial appointment process, the chief justice will be appointed by an eight-member parliamentary committee from among three senior judges.

The proposed amendments include the establishment of a seven-member constitutional commission for the appointment of judges in federal and provincial constitutional courts.

Constitutional amendments: Parliamentary panel decides to address concerns of parties

Additionally, a federal constitutional council will be created for the removal of judges. The retirement age for judges in the federal constitutional court will be set at 67, while the Chief Justice’s term will be limited to three years.

The draft has proposed the removal of the clause that mandates the senior-most judge to become Chief Justice.

Instead, the parliamentary committee will recommend one of the three senior-most judges to the Prime Minister, who will then forward the name to the President for approval.

The composition of the parliamentary committee will reflect the representation of different parties based on their number of assembly members.

The retirement age for Supreme Court of Pakistan judges will remain at 65 years, with the Chief Justice’s tenure capped at three years.

The amendment aims to establish a federal constitutional court alongside four provincial constitutional courts.

The initial Chief Justice of the federal constitutional court will be appointed by the President based on the Prime Minister’s advice, with the first judges appointed through consultation between the President and the Chief Justice of the federal constitutional court.

Going forward, the appointment of chief justices and judges for constitutional courts will be the responsibility of the seven-member constitutional commission, which will include the Chief Justice of the federal constitutional court, two senior judges, a retired judge designated by the Chief Justice, the federal law minister, the Attorney General, and a representative from the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC).

Members from both the government and opposition will also be included in the commission.

The Chief Justice and judges of the federal constitutional court will serve for three years, with a retirement age set at 68.

The constitutional amendment will also require annual performance reports for High Court judges, allowing those with poor performance to receive improvement opportunities before being referred to the Supreme Judicial Council for further action.

Additionally, the title of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court will be changed to “Chief Justice of the Supreme Court,” and Article 63-A will include provisions for counting votes of dissenting members.