n December 4, Justice Qazi Faez Isa, the chief justice of Pakistan, formed a committee with the aim of reviewing the Judicial Commission of Pakistan Rules, 2010. Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Manzoor Ahmed Malik (retired) were the co-chairs of the committee.

The committee deliberated on its mandate, which is to suggest procedural rules for the commission that adhere to the inclusive and collegial decision-making process as stipulated in Article 175A of the constitution. The committee discussed the following topics:

calling nominations and convening the Commission; how to start the nomination process for judges of the SC, High Courts and the Federal Shariat Court; how to represent advocates and judicial officers in high court appointments; how to ensure diversity in appointments to the High Courts; what constitutes merit in judicial appointments; how to confirm additional judges; and how to set up a secretariat for the Commission.

The proposed changes would be included in a final draft to be presented on December 29.

The authorities have been urged by various associations of lawyers to simplify the rules governing the nomination of judges framed following the 18th Amendment to the constitution. According to a proposal made by the Legislature, the Parliamentary Committee on the Appointment of Judges, should confirm the names proposed by the JCP, led by the CJP. The CJP has picked a majority of the judges promoted to superior courts since 2010.

For more than 10 years, the parliamentary committee had met to try to find a balance in the selection of judges for the superior courts. The meeting to approve amendments comes at a time when there are increasing calls for enhancing the representation of women in the superior courts. The inadequacy of the representation has been highlighted repeatedly while addressing issues related to women, including access to justice, gender-based violence and complaints of insensitivity and a hostile environment in the courts.

The judicial commission’s plan to amend the rules surrounding elevation of judges after a decade of trying to assemble a committee to do so, comes at a time when these reforms could take into account the issues surrounding women’s representation. A series of recommendations have come from a women-led legal forum, Women In Law Pakistan, working for gender mainstreaming in the legal sector.

The meeting to approve amendments to the rules comes at a time when there are increasing calls for enhanced representation of women in the superior courts.

The WILP has argued that the reform process needs to be inclusive and transparent. Equal stakeholders in the legal profession, female lawyers have been left out of a process that could determine judicial appointments. This state of affairs is untenable in the light of Articles 25 and 34 of the constitution. The WILP is asking affirmative action to ensure fairer representation of women.

Judicial appointments are an important component of women’s representation in the justice system. Women may be directly impacted by the jurisprudence that is developed by superior courts, particularly the Supreme Court of Pakistan, in family, criminal, political, fundamental rights and constitutional cases. This is also true of the Federal Shariat Court in relation to Muslim personal law.

Women In Law say the current licencing procedure suffers from bureaucratic obstacles. Obtaining a licence to practise law before a High Court or the Supreme Court is currently contingent upon documented rulings, interviews and verification procedures. This is seen disproportionately impeding the advancement of women and minorities in the legal profession. Women are frequently dissuaded from engaging in active practice and litigation in law firms. They face additional challenges in the absence of designated restrooms, safety and harassment protection and infrastructure and policies for maternity and child care. During maternity leave, they do accrue court judgements. Consequently, they have fewer judgements to cite and at a disadvantage on that account.

The time it takes to validate a law degree and the date an applicant is invited for an interview are also factors that affect licencing. There is no set schedule or protocol in place, so that the decision to call for such interviews can be arbitrary. Interviewees frequently have to wait for years. This can hinder or delay their advancement and seniority.

The forum says: “These capricious protocols impede the progress of women in the legal field. In contrast, strict entrance requirements have been implemented in countries like South Africa, Singapore, and the United Kingdom.”

Ensuring diversity in judicial appointments should be the basis for reform. Vacancies in the higher judiciary should be filled in an applications-based model rather than a nomination system as the nominations system is highly politicised and marred by nepotism. It has also prevented women from gaining sufficient judicial seats. Many countries including the United Kingdom have abandoned the nomination model and adopted a two-tier judicial appointments system that has abolished the lord chancellor’s powers of nomination.

The writer is an advocate of High Court, a founding partner at Lex Mercatoria and a visiting teacher at Bahria University’s Law Department