In a major development, the interim government cleared the draft of 'Supreme Court Judges Appointment Ordinance, 2025' in accordance with the Judicial Reform Roadmap announced by the Chief Justice.
In a press release issued by the Supreme Court on Friday said the council of advisers, in a meeting on Thursday, gave the approval and also the final clearance to the proposed ordinance paving the way for recruiting the skilled and qualified judges at the High Court Division of the Supreme Court.
The draft ordinance will now be finalised following the routine vetting works by the Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division.
Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed announced on September 21 the roadmap to modernise the country's judiciary system.
He attached special importance to the formation of an independent judicial appointment council to appoint justices of the higher court, among other things, in the roadmap and drew the attention of the interim government to enact the necessary laws in this regard.
The phased implementation of the Judicial Reform Roadmap can play an important role in bringing transparency to the judicial process and establishing justice in the country.
Earlier, the Supreme Court in consultation with the Law Ministry finalised the draft for the Appointment of High Court judges keeping a provision for 50 per cent representation from subordinate judges and another 50 per cent representation from the advocates practised in the Supreme Court, sources said.
The draft law also proposed 50 years as the minimum age for appointing High Court judges and 60 years for Appellate Division judges, sources added.
As per the current system, the Supreme Court gave recommendations in two categories of judges for appointments to High Courts: advocates directly elevated from the bar and judicial officers promoted from the subordinate courts. But, currently, only 43.6 per cent of HC judges have been appointed from the subordinate judiciary and the remaining 56.4 per cent were appointed directly from the Bar, according to the Supreme Court data.
The drafted law proposed the formation of a Supreme Judicial Appointment Council to assist the Chief Justice in consulting with the president on appointing Supreme Court judges in a strengthened, effective and transparent manner.
The draft law also proposes the creation of a Judicial Appointment Council to be chaired by the Chief Justice and having nine members, including two senior-most Appellate Division judges, two senior-most High Court judges (one from the lower judiciary), the Attorney General, the Supreme Court Bar Association president, a university law professor nominated by the University Grants Commission and two citizens to be elected through the process, sources said.
