Concerns Over ‘Court Packing’ Grow with 26th Constitutional Amendment
ISLAMABAD: The introduction of the 26th Constitutional Amendment has shifted control over judicial appointments to the executive, raising fears of potential “court packing” within Pakistan’s superior judiciary.
The amendment has restructured the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), concentrating power within the government, which now has a dominant role in selecting judges. Decisions within the JCP are now made by majority vote, giving the executive more influence over judicial appointments.
This change marks a significant departure from the previous system under the 18th Amendment, where a majority of JCP members were judges, ensuring a higher level of judicial independence.
The current alignment of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), and the Pakistan Bar Council’s Independent Group has created a unified front in the commission, allowing the government to smoothly appoint its preferred judicial nominees with support from influential circles.
Thus far, the JCP has approved the appointment of 12 judges to the Sindh High Court (SHC), three to the Balochistan High Court, and two to the Islamabad High Court (IHC). Judges have also been selected for constitutional benches in the Supreme Court and the SHC.
Legal experts suggest that the government has successfully placed a majority of its preferred judges in the SHC and IHC. However, there remain divisions within the JCP, particularly among judicial members. For example, Justice Aminuddin Khan, a member of the JCP, opposed Chief Justice Yahya Afridi’s proposal to nominate all Supreme Court judges for the constitutional bench, and instead, with support from executive and bar representatives, became the first head of the constitutional bench.
The next JCP meeting, scheduled for February 1, will address nominations for judges in the Peshawar High Court, with another session planned for February 7 to review Lahore High Court nominations. On February 11, the commission will appoint eight Supreme Court judges, likely favoring executive-backed candidates.
In addition, it has been reported that one or two provincial high court judges may soon be transferred to the IHC to facilitate the appointment of a new IHC chief justice. This will likely occur after the expected elevation of current IHC CJ Aamer Farooq to the Supreme Court, with the executive ensuring the selection of a like-minded candidate for the position.
The government is also reportedly concerned about six IHC judges who previously wrote to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) alleging interference by agencies in judicial matters related to high-profile cases. These judges are not expected to be considered for the next IHC chief justice position.
Before the 26th Amendment, the chief justice played a central role in judicial appointments, a system that was introduced with the 18th Amendment.
