Oct 24 deadline for new CJP notification: law minister

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Law and Justice Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar said on Saturday that October 24 is the deadline for the notification about the new chief justice of Supreme Court.

“The cut-off set for the Law Ministry to issue the notification for appointment of new chief justice of Pakistan is October 24. It has always been the practice to issue the notification of new chief justice a day or two before the appointment,” he said while speaking to the media after attending a meeting of the special committee.

In response to a question, the law minister said that the notification for appointment of Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa was issued a little earlier in view of the caretaker government’s arrival. Azam Nazeer Tarar mentioned that a committee of legal experts has been formed within the subcommittee of the parliamentary body. He described the engagement of politicians at the table as a breakthrough. “The constitutional amendment can be introduced after October 25 and even after two months,” he said, adding that discussions are ongoing on four to five points in the committee. In response to another question, the minister said that it was not too early for discussions, as it has now been a month and a half. When asked about the appointment process, the minister remarked that judges have sometimes been appointed by the governor-general, sometimes by the president, and even by martial law administrators in the past. He also pointed out that in the US, the president has the authority to appoint judges.