JCP extends terms of SC constitutional benches till Nov 30

ISLAMABAD: The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) on Thursday held two important meetings at the Supreme Court to decide on key matters concerning the performance and composition of constitutional benches in the apex and Sindh High Courts.

According to a statement issued after these meeting, the JCP decided by majority vote to extend the term of the constitutional benches of the Supreme Court until November 30, 2025.

The meeting also discussed a policy decision to formulate rules for the annual performance evaluation of High Court judges, as provided under Article 175A(20) of the Constitution.

To this end, a broad-based committee has been constituted to prepare draft rules for judicial performance evaluations. The committee will include representatives from the judiciary, parliament, executive, and legal fraternity, and aims to develop standards for annual assessments of High Court judges.

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In the second meeting held shortly after, the JCP considered the tenure of the constitutional benches of the High Court of Sindh. The commission approved a six-month extension of these benches, effective from July 23, 2025. It also announced new nominations and replacements within the bench.

Justice Adnan Iqbal Chaudhry and Justice Jaffar Raza have been newly nominated to the Sindh High Court’s constitutional bench, replacing Justice Agha Faisal and Justice Sana Akram Minhas.

SC declares transfer of judges constitutional

Earlier in the day, the Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan delivered a 3-2 verdict in the judges’ transfers and seniority case, declaring that the transfers taken place are constitutional.

The verdict also said that the President has the authority to decide the issue of seniority.

Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Shahid Bilal, and Justice Salahuddin upheld the transfer of judges. Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Justice Shakeel Ahmed gave dissenting notes.

The verdict declares transfers of Justice Sarfaraz Dogar, Justice Muhammad Asif, and Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) as constitutionally correct. The bench also ruled that the transferred judges do not require to retake their oaths.

The ruling maintains that Justice Sarfaraz Dogar will continue as Acting Chief Justice of the IHC until the President issues a decision on seniority.