A woman in the Supreme Court

With the elevation of Justice Ayesha Malik from the Lahore High Court to the Supreme Court, we are likely to witness the first woman judge joining the apex court in Pakistan. Justice Ayesha Malik received a nod from the Judicial Commission of Pakistan -- albeit with a divided vote. According to the laid-down procedure, the parliamentary committee will approve her name, and this will then be signed by the president of Pakistan; once the JCP makes a decision, it is highly unlikely that it will be opposed. As the country’s first-ever woman judge nominated to sit in the Supreme Court, Justice Ayesha Malik deserves all the appreciation that is rightly coming her way. This is no doubt a welcome step since courts need diversity and representation by persons of all genders and from various ethnic backgrounds in order to deliver fair justice to the people. In fact, every South Asian country, with the exception of Afghanistan and till now Pakistan, has had a female judge serve in its Supreme Court. It is also quite obvious that Justice Ayesha Malik is capable of the assignment she has been given, with impeccable credentials and judicial merit. There is also a growing recognition that more women in the higher judiciary would widen Pakistan's jurisprudence while also making the courts more accessible to women.

There is, however, still the lingering and serious matter of the criteria for the elevation of judges in the country. As has been pointed out, transparency is vital in this matter, with the possibility of some system devised where points can be awarded for seniority and also merit. It has been suggested by lawyers and legal experts that appointments should be made on this basis while preserving diversity and making sure people understand why a judge has been appointed. It has also been suggested that the names of all those up for elevation should be in the public domain and it should be known what criteria were used to raise a particular judge to the higher courts. Given the recent controversy that preceded Justice Ayesha Malik’s nomination by the JCP, it is all the more important that clear-cut criteria be set out and published so that everyone is clear on how judges are to be elevated to the higher judiciary, especially the Supreme Court.

The appointment of judges is a crucial issue. We must try to make it as streamlined as possible. Such criteria should have been developed much earlier and it is surprising that in the 75 years of Pakistan’s history we still do not have clarity about such appointments. This is significant to dispel arbitrariness in the selection process which leads to misgivings in the top judiciary. Without specified criteria, such appointments become questionable, which is also unfair to the judge eventually appointed. For now, though, we look towards a future where a woman will sit as judge in the highest court of the land. This one step is significant in a country where gender inequality in the justice system and legal profession is almost a given. With more women adjudicating cases, one hopes women in the country find the judicial process more accessible – as litigants, lawyers and junior judges.