ISLAMABAD: The Senate and the National Assembly of Pakistan have approved “The Constitution (Twenty-Sixth Amendment) Bill, 2024 with a two-third majority.
According to local media, in the Senate, 65 members voted in favour of the constitutional amendment and 4 against it, while in the National Assembly (NA) 225 members supported the amendment and 12 opposed it.
The new constitution amendment envisages introduction of reforms to the appointment process and tenure of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and set up constitutional benches at the apex court, with equal representation from all provinces of the country. The amendment also provides to set up constitutional benches at the high courts.
The senior-most judge of each constitutional bench will work as its presiding officer, according to the local media. As per the constitutional amendment, the term for the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) has been set at three years.
A 12-member parliamentary committee will nominate the new CJP from a panel of the three most senior judges. The committee, comprising 8 members from the National Assembly and 4 from the Senate, will propose the name to the Prime Minister of Pakistan, who will then forward it to the President for final approval.
Besides, a Judicial Commission of Pakistan, led by the CJP and including 3 senior judges, two members each from the NA and Senate, the Federal Minister for Law and Justice, the Attorney General, and a nominee of the Pakistan Bar Council, having not less than 15 years of practice in the SC, will be responsible for appointments of the judges of the SC.
The commission will monitor judges’ performance and report any concerns to the Supreme Judicial Council, according to Radio Pakistan. End.
