Growing number of vacancies of judges in LHC

ISLAMABAD: With the retirement of Justice Muhammad Tariq Abbasi on Tuesday, the number of vacancies of judges in the Lahore High Court (LHC) has gone up to 22 with new appointments nowhere in sight.

Another vacancy will be created after the superannuation of Justice Chaudhry Mushtaq Ahmad on April 6, 2021. With the exclusion of Justice Abbasi, the number of sitting LHC judges will now be 38. The sanctioned strength of judges in the LHC is 60.

LHC Chief Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan will retire on July 5, 2021. The most senior judge, Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti, will replace him and continue in the top office till March 7, 2024.

According to the record of the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan, as on November 30, 2020 the LHC had a total of 188,241 pending cases awaiting disposal. Due to the growing number of vacancies of judges, the judicial workload is dramatically increasing, burdening the existing judges. Litigants, meanwhile, are inconvenienced because of the delay in the adjudication of their cases.

The last appointment of judges in the LHC was made more than 27 months ago. Since then, the new selections are stalled for various reasons. The incumbent LHC chief justice had more than once forwarded to the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) his recommendations to fill the vacancies but the names suggested had not been approved. These included practicing lawyers and serving district and sessions judges as per the standard practice.

The lists sent by the LHC chief justice had been revised more than once but the new names had also not been accepted. Even informal consultations had not been helpful in getting the new judges selected.

There is no single authority that has exclusive powers to appoint high court judges. The JCP has the last say in doing so, acting on the recommendations sent by the concerned LHC chief justice. The parliamentary party’s approval of the names proposed by the JCP is mostly just a formality. It has always been the case that the committee clears the nominees sent by the JCP.

The JCP headed by the chief justice of Pakistan presently comprises Supreme Court judges Justices Mushir Alam, Umar Ata Bandial, Qazi Faez Isa and Maqbool Baqar because of their seniority in the apex court.

According to article 175-A of the Constitution, the JCP for the purposes of the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court consists of the chief justice as its chairman, the four most senior judges of the apex court, a former chief justice or an-ex-judge of the apex court to be nominated by the chief justice in consultation with the four senior-most judges for a term of two years, the federal law minister, the Attorney-General of Pakistan, and a senior advocate, nominated by the Pakistan Bar Council for a term of two years.

For the appointment of high court judges, the JCP includes the chief justice of the concerned high court, the most senior judge of that high court, the provincial law minister, and an advocate having not less than 15 years of practice in the high court, to be nominated by the concerned Bar Council for a term of two years.

The JCP by a majority of its total membership nominates to the eight-member parliamentary committee one person for each vacancy of a judge. The committee has four members each from the Senate and the National Assembly. Of them, four members each are taken from the government and opposition, who are nominated by the leaders of the House and opposition.

The committee on receipt of a recommendation from the JCP may confirm the nominee by a majority of its total membership within 14 days, failing which the nomination will be deemed to have been confirmed. However, for reasons to be recorded, it may not confirm the nomination by three-fourths majority of its total membership within that period. If a nomination is not confirmed by it, it will forward its decision with reasons to the JCP through the prime minister. If a nomination is not confirmed, the JCP will send another name.