Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Yahya Afridi has summoned a meeting of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) on Saturday (December 21) to review the proposed draft of JC Rules for appointment of judges, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Thursday.
A committee headed by Justice Jamal Mandokhail had forwarded the draft to Judicial Commission for consideration and if approved then the appointment of high court judges will be considered under the new JC Rules, sources said.
Earlier this month, the Judicial Commission of Pakistan had approved the constitution of a committee to formulate rules and parameters for the appointment of judges.
“The Judicial Commission of Pakistan unanimously decided to accord highest priority towards framing of rules relating to regulating its procedure including the procedure and criteria for assessment, evaluation and fitness for appointment of judges,” said a statement issued then by the Supreme Court.
The CJP was allowed to choose Judicial Commission members for the committee. The five-member committee was headed by Supreme Court Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail and comprised of Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan, Senators Ali Zafar and Farooq Naek and lawyer Akhtar Hussain.
The CJP had then directed the committee to prepare a draft of the rules by December 15.
It was also decided that appointments for additional Sindh High Court judges would be deferred until December 21.
Reporter Amanat Gishkori