On more than one occasion, I have expressed my deep concern about the setting up of the Judiciary under the new constitution and the trends that were emerging in the actions of the Judiciary.
The Judicial Service Commission is charged by the Constitution to oversee the day to day affairs of the Judiciary and to take action against wayward judges. One of the functions of the JSC is the appointment of judges to various benches.
The Constitution envisaged a certain setup for the entire Judiciary, and the JSC has a crucial role to play in this. However, the Constitution makes it plainly clear that the JSC itself would have to follow certain laws which should be passed by Majlis, and the decisions of the JSC would be necessarily constrained by these laws.
However, it appears that the JSC has taken it unto themselves to go ahead and appoint judges for life without laws that direct them on the standards expected of judges, or the number of courts that should be established, the jurisdicitions of various courts, the tenure of judges for the first fifteen years of the new constitution etc.
This move from the JSC comes at a time when the Majlis is totally disfunctional. This is significant when we consider that the Majlis is charged with keeping the JSC in check. Further, I have it on good authority, that a member of the JSC itself has lodged a complaint with the Majlis regarding how the business of the JSC is being conducted, and the Majlis had summoned the JSC to a committee hearing, and this process has not started yet due to the standstill of the Majlis.
We should also remember that the Supreme COurt has been flexing its muscle on taking control of the entire Judiciary and that the current Chair of the JSC is a sitting judge of the Supreme Court. Further, the Judges Association has been complaining constantly that the JSC should comprise of Judges only. According to them, Judges are an exceptional species who can keep themselves in check. I wonder if they have heard of the Principles of Natural Justice?
Anyway, it appears to me that the move started by the Supreme Court when they arbitrarily took control of the Department of Judicial Administration will be almost completed by the appointment of all their cronies to the bench, for life.
I suppose this is what happens when we have a eunuch of a Parliament.
Anyway, out of desperation, I have written to the JSC to appeal to them to stop this madness. In that letter I have outlined in some detail, what the people who wrote the Constitution envisaged for the Judiciary. Most probably, my letter is in the JSC dustbin now. Any way, I will publish this letter on this blog (click on pages above to view letter), so that at least it will be there, available for anyone who cares to know what kind of Judiciary the Constitution hoped to setup, and what was provided for in the Constitution.
The interested reader may refer to my previous ramblings on the Judiciary by clicking the following links:
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