Judicial Commission of Pakistan appoints Justice Aminuddin Khan as head of the constitutional bench in the Supreme Court
ISLAMABAD, Nov 05 (SABAH): The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) on Tuesday appointed Justice Aminuddin Khan as head of the constitutional bench in the Supreme Court.
JCP, led by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Yahya Khan Afridi, constituted the constitutional bench in a 7-5 split decision, with the majority of members voting in favor of its formation.
The constitutional bench has been formed for a period of 60 days, according to media reports. The bench will be headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan, with Justices Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Ayesha A. Malik, Syed Hassan Azhar Rizvi, Musarrat Hilali and Naeem Akhtar Afghan also included as members. The bench has representation from all the provinces.
The JCP meeting was attended by senior puisne judge Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Aminuddin Khan, Senator Farooq Hamid Naek, MNA Sheikh Aftab Ahmad, MNA Omar Ayub Khan, former senator Roshan Khursheed Bharucha, Law Minister Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar, Senator Shibli Faraz, Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan and Pakistan Bar Council representative Akhtar Hussain.
Constitutional benches have been created at the Supreme Court of Pakistan through an amendment to Article 191-A. “There shall be a constitutional bench of the Supreme Court, which may comprise an equal number of judges from each province,” the amended article states.
These benches will hear original, appellate and advisory jurisdiction of the top court.
As per the 26th Constitutional Amendment, the Judicial Commission comprises 13 members. The commission is responsible for making appointments to the Supreme Court, high courts, and the Federal Shariat Court (FSC).
On October 21, the controversial 26th Constitutional Amendment sailed through parliament after the ruling coalition succeeded in rallying two-thirds of lawmakers’ support.
The amendments changed the procedure for the selection of the chief justice of Pakistan while also paving the way for formation of constitutional benches in the Supreme Court.
As per the addition of Article 175-A in the Constitution through the 26th Amendment, the JCP will be headed by CJP and will also consist of two senators and two MNAs.
The commission would also consist of three senior-most judges of the Supreme Court, most senior judge of the constitutional bench, the Federal Minister for Law and Justice, the Attorney General for Pakistan, an advocate not having experience of less than 15 years of practice in the Supreme Court to be nominated by the Pakistan Bar Council (for two years).
A woman or non-Muslim member of parliament qualifies to be a parliamentarian to be nominated by the speaker for two years will also be part of the key panel.