Justice Mansoor seeks JCP meeting details
SC senior puisne judge wants committee to make minutes public
ISLAMABAD:
Supreme Court Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah has urged the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) to share the minutes of all its meetings during tenure of Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi.
In a letter written on June 25 to the JCP secretary, Justice Shah raised concern for not sharing the minutes of the JCP meetings to the public.
“I raise an issue of institutional concern: the commission’s discontinuation of the practice of releasing the minutes of its meetings to the public,” says the letter.
Justice Shah believes that the judiciary, as a trend-setter for other state institutions, must hold itself to the highest standards of openness and public accountability.
“The appointment of judges is a public act with far-reaching consequences. The people of Pakistan have a right to know how the judges of the top court in the country are selected, what deliberations take place, and whether constitutional standards are applied in good faith.
“The opacity that now surrounds the Commission’s workings is not healthy, not democratic, and not consistent with the Supreme Court’s image as the guardian of constitutional values,” says the letter.
He; therefore, urges the commission that the minutes of all JCP meetings held during the tenure of the current chairperson (CJP Afridi) be released to the public, in accordance with past practice.
Abdul Moiz Jaferii advocate said that the central premise of the newly instituted processes related to the judiciary was that the method and process of judicial appointments be made more transparent.
A basic feature of this transparency was the releasing of minutes which let the people see the process of determination. This has now ceased. Without reason, he adds.
