The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) and the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) asked Wednesday in a joint declaration that the constitutional rules governing the chief justice’s discretion be changed.
This joint proclamation was issued following a meeting in which representatives from the SCBA and the PBC discussed the rules governing the selection of judges for benches to hear cases.
The members of the bar councils raised worries about the hastily scheduled judicial commission meeting, as well as their anxiety about yesterday’s decision not to constitute a full court.
“The power of the Chief Justice to fix cases and constitute benches should be regulated. The bench formation should be the prerogative of the five senior-most judges,” the bar councils said in the joint declaration.
“The Supreme Court’s rules should be amended for the formation of a different bench to hear the review petition. The bar councils do not have any personal interest, nor are they affiliated with any party,” they stated.
“The bar councils strongly condemn the appointment of junior judges in the Supreme Court. The constitutional provisions for the appointment of judges should be amended,” they demanded in their joint declaration.
“The government should immediately withdraw curative review against Justice Qazi Faez Isa. The judicial commission rules should be amended to such an extent that the power to appoint judges should not remain with the Chief Justice alone,” they added.
While speaking to the media after the joint session, SCBA President Ahsan Bhoon said that the previous day’s decision of the Supreme Court would be considered contrary to the facts and law.
“Decisions that conflict with the Constitution will have a [negative] effect in the coming days,” he added.
“The letters written by Imran Khan and Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain to the members of their parties for voting are exactly the same,” he stated.
