Justice Ayesha A. Malik to take oath as SC judge on Monday
ISLAMABAD, Jan 21 (SABAH): President Dr. Arif Alvi on Friday gave final approval to the elevation of Lahore High Court Justice Ayesha A. Malik as a judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Justice Ayesha Malik will take oath as SC judge on Monday. Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Gulzar Ahmed will administer oath to her. The oath taking ceremony will be held at the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
A notification issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice said President Dr. Arif Alvi had approved her appointment under sub-section one of Article 177 of the Constitution.
The notification, said: “In exercise of powers conferred by clause (1) of article 177 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the president is pleased to appoint Mrs Ayesha A. Malik, a judge of the Lahore High Court, as a judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan with effect from the date she takes oath of her office.”
Justice Ayesha Malik will make history as the first female Supreme Court judge in the judicial history of Pakistan. Her tenure will begin from the date she takes the oath of office.
The president’s approval follows a formal go-ahead to the promotion from the Parliamentary Committee on Judges Appointments this past Wednesday.
The committee, under the chairmanship of former chairman senate Senator Farooq Hamid Naek, had decided to approve Justice Ayesha’s elevation after the Judicial Commission of Pakistan finally acquiesced to her nomination.
The Judicial Commission of Pakistan had on January 7 approved the elevation with a vote of five for and four against after a heated discussion on whether judges should be appointed based on merit or seniority.
It is pertinent to mention here that Justice Ayesha Malik is ranked fourth in the Lahore High Court in terms of seniority, but is widely respected as a capable judge.
Farooq Naek had said while approving the nomination that the court was not abolishing the procedure to appoint judges based on seniority, but Malik’s appointment as first woman SC judge “would benefit the country”.
Justice Ayesha Malik has been nominated to take the seat being vacated by Justice Mushir Alam following his retirement on August 17.
Her appointment had been suggested by the Chief Justice of Pakistan and the Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court. Justice Ayesha had subsequently agreed to the elevation in writing.
Justice Ayesha A. Malik born on 3rd June, 1966, she completed her basic education from Schools in Paris and New York and did her Senior Cambridge from the Karachi Grammar School, Karachi. She then did her A’ Level from Francis Holland School for Girls in London. She completed her B.Com from the Government College of Commerce & Economics, Karachi and studied law at Pakistan College of Law, Lahore. She went on to do her LL.M from Harvard Law School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A. where she was named a London H. Gammon Fellow 1998-1999 for outstanding merit.
During 1997-2001, she worked with Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim & Co., Karachi, where she assisted Mr. Fakhurddin G. Ebrahim.
From 2001 to the date of her elevation, she worked with Rizvi, Isa, Afridi & Angell known as RIAA, initially as a Senior Associate and from 2004 as a Partner and was in Charge of the Firm’s Lahore Office. In this capacity, she spearheaded the Corporate & Litigation Department of the Firm’s Lahore Office.
She has taught law as a Lecturer of Banking Law, University of Punjab, Department of Masters of Business and Information Technology. She was also a lecturer of Mercantile Law, College of Accounting & Management Sciences, Karachi and spent many years voluntarily teaching English Language and Development in Communication Skills at Herman Meiner School in Lahore, being an SOS project.
She has appeared in the High Courts, District Courts, Banking Court, Special Tribunals and Arbitration Tribunals. She was called upon as expert witness in family law cases conducted in England and Australia involving issues of child custody, divorce, women’s rights and constitutional protection for women in Pakistan.
She has been counsel, pro bono for NGOs involved in poverty alleviation programs, micro finance programs and skills training programs.
Her publications include Why ‘Trade’ in Financial Services: An assessment of the Agreement on Trade in Financial Services under the GATS- The Journal of World Investment, Vol 1 No.2, December 2000. 12th Edition of the Global Report 2004 on the Independence of the Judiciary-Pakistan Chapter. Pakistan Secular Laws:
The Oxford International Encyclopedia of Legal History published by Oxford University Press 2009, Volume 4
She also compiled the Supreme Court of Pakistan 1956-2006 Selected Cases published by the Pakistan College of Law, published at the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
She has regularly contributed to the Merger Control, Getting The Deal Through, being an International Journal of Competition policy and Regulation Global Competition Review.
She has been a Reporter for Pakistan for the Oxford Reports on International Law in Domestic Courts, a publication of the Oxford University Press. She is happily married and has three children.
Justice Ayesha Malik will become the first woman chief justice of Pakistan after the retirement of Justice Yahya Khan Afridi on 24th January 2030. She will retire as chief justice of Pakistan on 3rd June 2031. She will serve as CJP for over 16 months.