ISLAMABAD: Vice Chairman of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC), Farooq H. Naek, announcedthat the establishment of a constitutional court in Pakistan will lead to the appointment of two chief justices.
Naek explained that one chief justice will preside over the new federal constitutional court, while the other will lead the Supreme Court of Pakistan. The chief justice of the constitutional court will have a term of three years, with an age limit of 68 years.
He also mentioned that the performance of constitutional court judges could be reviewed, with recommendations for their removal or further action made to the Judicial Commission if necessary. A committee will be formed to propose names for the position of chief justice of the constitutional court.
Earlier, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari expressed his party’s support for the formation of the constitutional court. Speaking to the Balochistan High Court Bar Association, he urged legal professionals to accept the constitutional courts as mandated by the Constitution, stating, “If you don’t accept the constitutional courts, you should leave the practice.”
Amid a continuing political standoff between the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led ruling coalition and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUIF) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the latter has now proposed to constitute a constitutional bench within the Supreme Court instead of creating a separate Federal Constitutional Court (FCC).
Though pollical impasse stays over the proposed constitutional package between the two sides, developments led JUI-F officials to say that the party was preparing its own constitutional amendment package, which includes a proposal to set up a constitutional bench within the incumbent apex court instead of establishing a new FCC over the Supreme Court.
While sharing details about the proposal, the JUI-F officials said that the party wishes to suggest that a five-member bench should be constituted, which should only deal with constitutional matters.
They said that it has not yet been finalized if the incumbent judges should be a part of the bench or new judges should be hired for the purpose.
The official also said that the party was busy contemplating the criteria which will be used if new judges are appointed in the incumbent apex court, saying ensuring merit as well as age, qualification, experience, among other things, of would-be judges is the key in this matter.
