Article 175A: Appointment of Judges to the Federal Constitution Court, the Supreme Court, High Courts and the Federal Shariat Court

(1) There shall be a Judicial Commission of Pakistan, hereinafter in this Article referred to as the Commission, for appointment of Judges of [the Federal Constitutional Court,] the Supreme Court, High Courts and the Federal Shariat Court, [and for performance evaluation of Judges of the High Courts,] as hereinafter provided. [(2)For appointment of Judges of [the Federal Constitutional Court and] the Supreme Court, the Commission shall consist of— [(i) Chief Justice of the Federal Constitutional Court; (ii) Chief Justice of the Supreme Court; (iii) one next most senior Judge each of the Federal Members Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court; (iiia) a Judge of the Federal Constitutional Member; Court or the Supreme Court jointly nominated by the Chief Justice of the Federal Constitutional Court and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, for a period of two years;] (iv) Federal Minister for Law and Justice; Member (v) Attorney-General for Pakistan; Member (vi) an advocate having not less than Member fifteen years of practice in the Supreme Court to be nominated by the Pakistan Bar Council for a term of two years; (vii) two members from the Senate and two Members members from the National Assembly of whom two shall be from the Treasury Benches, one from each House, and two from the Opposition Benches, one from each House. The nomination from the Treasury Benches shall be made by the Leader of the House and from the Opposition Benches by the Leader of the Opposition: Provided that during the time when the National Assembly stands dissolved, the remaining two members, for the purpose of this paragraph, shall be nominated from the Senate in the manner as aforesaid, for such period; [(viii) a woman or non Muslim or a Member;] technocrat, other than a member of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament), who is qualified to be member of the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament), to be appointed by the Speaker of the National Assembly; [ExplanationI.- The senior amongst the Chief Justice of the Federal Constitutional Court and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall be the Chairperson of the Commission. Their inter seseniority shall be determined with reference to their dates of appointment as the Chief Justice of the Federal Constitutional Court and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court otherwise than as Acting Chief Justice and in case the dates of such appointment are the same, with reference to their dates of appointment as Judges of the High Courts. Explanation II.- If a Judge may not be nominated under paragraph (iiia), one nominee each of the respective Chief Justices shall be placed before the Commission which shall, by the majority of its total membership, nominate a Judge under paragraph (iiia) from amongst the nominees. Explanation III.- If the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court or a Judge mentioned in paragraph (iii) is to be nominated for appointment as a Judge of the Federal Constitutional Court, the next most senior Judge, as the case may be, shall act as a member of the Commission in his place. Explanation IV.- If a Judge appointed under paragraph (iiia) is a Judge of the Supreme Court and is to be nominated for appointment as a Judge of the Federal Constitutional Court, another Judge of the Federal Constitutional Court or the Supreme Court shall be nominated under clause (iiia) or Explanation II, as the case may be, to act as a member of the Commission in his place.] [(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in clause (1), or clause (2), [the Chief Justice of the Federal Constitutional Court and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court] shall be nominated by the Special Parliamentary Committee, in this Article referred to as the Committee, from amongst the three most senior Judges of [the Federal Constitutional Court or the Supreme Court, as the case may be]. The Committee shall send the name of the nominee to the Prime Minister who shall forward the same to the President for appointment: * * * * * * * [Provided that if the nominee under this clause declines to become the Chief Justice, he shall be deemed to have retired and the three next most senior Judges shall be considered and so on till the appointment of the Chief Justice of the Federal Constitutional Court or the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, as the case may be: Provided further that notwithstanding anything contained in the Constitution, the President shall, on advice of the Prime Minister, appoint the first Chief Justice of the Federal Constitutional Court from amongst the Judges of the Supreme Court: Provided also and notwithstanding anything contained in the Constitution, the appointment of the first batch of Judges of the Federal Constitutional Court, shall be made by the President, on advice of the Prime Minister in consultation with the Chief Justice of the Federal Constitutional Court: Provided also that the second, third and this proviso shall stand omitted on the appointment of the first Chief Justice and the Judges under the above said provisos.] [(3A) The Committee shall consist of the following twelve members, namely:— (i) eight members from the National Assembly; and (ii) four members from the Senate: Provided that when the National Assembly stands dissolved, the total membership of the Committee shall consist of the members from the Senate only mentioned in paragraph (ii) and the provisions of this Article shall, mutatis mutandis, apply. (3B) The Parliamentary Parties shall have proportional representation on the Committee, based on their strength in Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament), to be nominated by their respective Parliamentary Leaders. The Chairman and the Speaker of the National Assembly, as the case may be, shall notify members of the Committee. (3C) The Committee, by the majority of not less than two-thirds of its total membership, within fourteen days prior to the retirement of the Chief Justice of [the Federal Constitutional Court or the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, as the case may be] shall send the nomination as provided in clause (3) [.] * * * * * * * (3D) No action or decision taken by the Commission or the Committee shall be invalid or called in question only on the ground of existence of a vacancy therein or of the absence of any member from any meeting thereof. (3E) The meetings of the Committee shall be held in camera and the record of its proceedings shall be maintained. (3F) The provisions of Article 68 shall not apply to the proceedings of the Committee. (3G) The Committee may make rules for regulating its procedure.] [(4) The Commission [shall] make rules regulating its procedure including the procedure and criteria for assessment, [interview,] evaluation and fitness for appointment of Judges.] (5) For appointment of Judges of a High Court, the Commission in clause (2) shall also include the following, namely:— (i) Chief Justice of the High Court to Member which the appointment is being made; (ii) [Head of Constitutional Benches of Member that High Court] (iii) Provincial Minister for Law; and Member [(iv) an advocate having not less than Member fifteen years practice in the High Court to be nominated by the concerned Bar Council for a term of two years [.]] [Explanation.—If Head of Constitutional Benches of a High Court is the Chief Justice of that High Court, the Judge who is next in seniority shall become member of the Commission:] [Provided that for appointment of the Chief Justice of a High Court the Judge mentioned in paragraph (ii), if he is the most senior Judge of a High Court, shall not be member of the Commission:] Provided further that if for any reason the Chief Justice of a High Court is not available, he shall be substituted by a former Chief Justice or former Judge of that Court, to be nominated by the [Commission] [:]] [Provided also that if Article 202A has not come into force for a High Court, the most senior Judge of such High Court shall be a member of the Commission under paragraph (ii).]] (6) For appointment of Judges of the Islamabad High Court, the Commission in clause (2) shall also include the following, namely:— (i) Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Member Court; * (ii) [Head of Constitutional Benches of Member that High Court] [;] [(iii) an advocate having not less than Member fifteen years of practice in the High Court to be nominated by the Islamabad Bar Council for a term of two years; and (iv) a Federal Minister nominated Member] by the Prime Minister: Provided that for initial appointment of the [Chief Justice and the] Judges of the Islamabad High Court, the Chief Justices of the four Provincial High Courts shall also be members of the Commission: Provided further that subject to the foregoing proviso, in case of appointment of Chief Justice [and the Judges] of Islamabad High Court, the [Explanation and] provisos to clause (5) shall, mutatis mutandis, apply. (7) For appointment of Judges of the Federal Shariat Court, the Commission in clause (2) shall also include the Chief Justice of the Federal Shariat Court and the most senior Judge of that Court as its members: Provided that for appointment of Chief Justice of Federal Shariat Court, the provisos, to clause (5) shall, mutatis mutandis, apply. [(8) The Commission, by the majority of its total membership, shall nominate one person for each vacancy of a Judge in [the Federal Constitutional Court,] the Supreme Court, a High Court or the Federal Shariat Court, as the case may be, to the Prime Minister who shall forward the same to the President for appointment.] * * * * * * * (11) Secretary, [National Assembly] shall act as the Secretary of the Committee. * * * * * * * [(18) The Commission in clause (2) shall conduct an annual performance evaluation of Judges of the High Courts. (19) If the performance of a Judge of a High Court is found by the Commission to be inefficient, it shall grant him such period for improvement, as it deems appropriate. If, upon completion of the period so granted, the performance of such Judge is again found to be inefficient, the Commission shall send its report to the Supreme Judicial Council. [(20) The Commission shall make rules for the purposes of clauses (18) and (19) within sixty days of commencement of the Constitution (Twenty-seventh Amendment) Act, 2025.] (21) For the purposes of this Article and subject to the rules made by the Commission, there shall be a secretariat of the Commission to be headed by a secretary and shall include such other officers and staff, as may be necessary. (22) One-third of the members of the Commission may requisition a meeting of the Commission by sending a written request to the Chairperson who shall convene the meeting of the Commission not later than fifteen days from the receipt of such requisition. If the Chairperson fails to convene a meeting within the aforesaid period, the secretary shall convene the meeting within seven days of the expiry of the aforesaid period. (23) For each anticipated or actual vacancy of a Judge in [the Federal Constitutional Court,] the Supreme Court, the Chief Justice of the Federal Shariat Court, the Chief Justice of a High Court, a Judge in the Federal Shariat Court or a Judge in a High Court, any member of the Commission may give nominations in the Commission for appointment against such vacancy.] [CHAPTER 1A.—THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTIONAL COURT

Effective date: 1973-08-14

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