ISLAMABAD: The Parliamentary Committee on Appointment of Judges in Superior Courts, unanimously, decided that the appointment of the judges in the Supreme Court will be made in accordance with their seniority.

The meeting was held under the chairmanship of Senator Farooq Hamid Naek, here on Tuesday at the Parliament House.

The committee unanimously approved the constitutional amendments in the relevant provision of the Constitution regarding judiciary proposed by the chairman of the committee, Senator Naek.

The Committee decided that the appointment of the judges in the Supreme Court will be made in accordance with their seniority, which shall be determined with reference to their date of appointment as a judge of the high court and in case, the dates of the appointments of the judges are the same then the decision will be made on the basis of their age.

The committee also decided that the ad-hoc/acting judges in the Supreme Court will be appointed subject to confirmation by the Parliamentary Committee on Judges Appointments in the Superior Courts.

The committee also approved an amendment in Clause 3 of the Article 184, of the Constitution according to that when the suo motu powers in the human rights case are exercised by the Supreme Court, the case would be heard by three judges of the Supreme Court and appeal against the order can be filed within 30 days to be decided by the five judges of the Supreme Court within 60 days.

It was further decided that if an appeal against an order under this Article has been made, the order appealed against shall not be implemented pending decision of the appeal.

The Parliamentary Committee on Judges Appointment also approved the recommendation that age of retirement of High Court judge will be enhanced from existing 62 years to 65 years as in the case of a judge of the Supreme Court.

The Committee also approved an amendment in Article 209 of the Constitution proposed by the chairman of the Committee and decided that a reference on account of misconduct against the judge of the superior judiciary will be decided by the Supreme Judicial Council within 90 days.

The Parliamentary Committee on Judges Appointment also discussed the Article 175-A of the constitution dealing with manner of the appointment of the judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and composition of the Supreme Judicial Council. It was decided that the issue will be further deliberated upon in the next meeting of the Committee.

The Committee also decided to invite the Federal Minister for Law and Justice in its next meeting. The meeting was attended by senators, Azam Nazeer Tarar, and Sarfraz Ahmed Bugti, MNAs, Ali Muhammad Khan, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Rana Sana Ullah Khan, and Secretary Senate of Pakistan Mohammad Qasim Samad Khan.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021