ISLAMABAD: Justice Mansoor Ali Shah has opposed the inclusion of intelligence agencies in the judicial appointment process, warning against potential abuse of such a practice.
His remarks come in a letter addressed to the secretary of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) ahead of a key meeting chaired by Chief Justice Yahya Afridi.
“Allowing civilian intelligence agencies to have a say in the appointment process is open to abuse, especially when the executive branch has primacy on the Commission,” he wrote.
Chief Justice Puisne added: “[This] should be avoided. Members of the judiciary may rely on their personal information collected from their judges and otherwise.”
He proposed that the commission adopt a clear mechanism for the selection of judges to the constitutional benches, including the evaluation of the number of constitutionally interpretative judgments authored by the candidates.
Shah criticized the commission’s past practice of forming constitutional benches without pre-defined criteria and pointed out the lack of a structured approach to such critical appointments.
He emphasized that the appointment of judges to constitutional benches should be guided by measurable and fair standards.
The Judiciary Committee is meeting today to review proposed rules for judicial appointments. Justice Shah also made general recommendations to refine these rules to ensure independence and accountability in the judiciary.
This is the second time that Justice Shah has raised his concerns about the 26th Constitutional Amendment under which the JCP was established.
In his letter to Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, who is the chairman of a subordinate JCP body constituted by the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) to prepare the draft rules of the National Judicial Appointments Commission, the chief justice pointed out the “grave risks” posed by the “unprecedented shift” in the composition of the JOP.
These “risks,” as Justice Shah mentioned, include the potential for “political appointments and filling the courts with judges who lack an ideological commitment to the rule of law.”
Before his letter to Justice Mandokhail, Justice Shah had last week written a letter to the Chief Justice seeking postponement of the JCP meeting as many petitions challenging the 26th Amendment of the Constitution were still pending in the apex court.
However, CJP Yahya Afridi made it clear that the commission has no scope to discuss the 26th Constitutional Amendment.
