Pakistan legal fraternity threaten boycott if Judicial Commission considers elevation of woman judge

The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) and all bar associations on Tuesday threatened a blanket boycott if Judicial Commission is set to consider elevation of woman judge Justice Ayesha A Malik.

The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) and all bar associations on Tuesday threatened a blanket boycott if Judicial Commission is set to consider elevation of woman judge Justice Ayesha A Malik. The legal fraternity has called on Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed to postpone Thursday's meeting of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), scheduled to be held on January 6 to consider the elevation of Malik of the Lahore High Court (LHC) to the apex court, reported Dawn.

In case the meeting is not called off, they said to boycott all court proceedings, from the superior judiciary to the lower courts. The January 6 session of the JCP was summoned after the CJP once again proposed the name of Justice Ayesha A Malik for elevation, reported Dawn.

The last time this question came before the JCP on Sept 9, a lack of consensus during an extended meeting forced the commission to defer the appointment of Justice Malik -- who is fourth in the seniority order of the Lahore High Court (LHC) -- to enter the Supreme Court as the first-ever woman judge in the country's judicial history. Meanwhile, the PBC maintains that Justice Ayesha's proposed elevation violates seniority and called for reforms in appointment rules.

Monday's meeting also resolved to approach parliament as well as political parties to lobby for amendments in articles 175A and 209 of the Constitution that deals with the appointment of the judges in the superior judiciary and their removal, reported Dawn. Article 175-A deals with the appointment procedure of the judges in the superior courts while Article 209 provides a forum for the removal of a superior court judge.

The meeting recalled the CJP's own principle that no chief justice should initiate the process of elevation or the appointment of judges in the superior judiciary when he was nearing the end of his tenure. The incumbent CJP has less than a month remaining as he is scheduled for superannuation on February 1, reported Dawn. (ANI)

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