CJP administers oath to Justice Jamal as SC judge

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Gulzar Ahmed on Monday administered the oath of office to Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, chief justice of Balochistan High Court, as judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

The chief justice administered the oath at a ceremony held here at the Supreme Court. The ceremony was attended by Attorney General Khalid Javed, senior lawyers and law officers of the court.

With the elevation of Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel to the Supreme Court, the strength of SC judges became 16 including the chief justice of Pakistan. The Judicial Commission of Pakistan was constituted under the 18th Amendment for the purpose of appointment of judges to the superior judiciary. The commission on July 28 had recommended elevation of junior judge of Sindh High Court (SHC) Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar as a judge of the Supreme Court with the majority of 5:4.

Five members of the JCP approved the elevation, while four opposed it. After the Parliamentary Committee on Appointment of Judges recommends Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar for his elevation to the Supreme Court, his name will be referred to the prime minister and then to the president and upon the approval of the president, the appointment of Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar will be notified by the Ministry of Law. The two seats in the Supreme Court were vacated after the retirement of Justice Faisal Arab and Justice Manzoor Malik.

It is pertinent to mention here that Article 176 of the Constitution envisages that the number of judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan shall be determined by an act of parliament. In the light of this provision, the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act 1997 has determined that the number of judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan other than the chief justice shall be sixteen.

A person with five-year experience as a judge of high court or 15-year experience as advocate of high court is eligible to be appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court. The chief justice of Pakistan and each of other judges of the Supreme Court shall be appointed by the president in accordance with Article 175A, inserted through 18th and 19th Constitutional Amendments. These constitutional amendments have devised a new scheme for the appointment of judges of the Supreme Court, the Federal Shariat Court and high courts.

At present, as per seniority, the SC judges are Justice Mushir Alam, Justice Umer Ata Bandial, Justice Qazi Faez Isa, Justice Maqbool Baqir, Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, Justice Ijazul Ahsen, Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel, Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin Ahmed, Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan, Justice Syed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel.