Pick and choose ?
FIRST time in the history of Pakistan, Woman justice has been elevated to the supreme court of Pakistan.
Justice Ayesha Malik was the justice of Lahore High court. She is the only justice who has given remarkable judgment in a case regarding a two figure virginity test. She declared this two-finger test as illegal and against the constitution.
Well, it is a remarkable event for all Pakistanis that the first time a woman is elevated to the Supreme court which shows that women can also be served in the Supreme court.
But at the same time, it is also a concern that what is the formula of elevating judges to the Apex court of Pakistan.
For years, it was a simple formula of seniority which was followed. Senior-most of judge of any high court was elevated to the Supreme court without any debate or controversies. But now it has changed as nobody is aware of the formula or the process on which grounds judges are elevated to Apex court. Now for some groups, it seems to be a pick and choose policy.
The judicial commission is divided as some respected judges and Pakistan Bar Council opposed the selection and still, they are supporting the seniority formula.
There is no denying that it is the moment of celebration for all the Pakistanis as women are also getting the opportunities to serve in the Apex court of Pakistan.
But also some questions are arising that she had a chance to become the Chief Justice of Lahore High Court, and would that be beneficial for the people and especially for the women as compared to this.
There is a debate on seniority among the legal fraternity. As Pakistan bar Council announced the strike some days ago on this decision.
They are asserting that the seniority formula must be followed. The same controversy was created last year when Justice Mazhar was elevated to Supreme who was junior and 4th in the number of senioritis at Sindh High Court.
As Justice Ahmed Ali Shaikh being the most senior judge of the High court is not elevated to the supreme court multiple times.
Furthermore, in a country that is ranked third last in the list of gender equality indexes, the Judicial commission’s decision of elevating Justice Ayesha Malik can be a step towards equality among males and females.
But at the same time, it is necessary to determine the nomination and selection criteria and if it is done, all the misgivings and controversies for the selection process will be swept away.
There will be transparency in judicial appointments. This can only be achieved by establishing in clear terms what qualifies a judge for setting in the supreme court and how one judge is more competent than another.
Then the controversies will end and nominations of justices such as Justice Ayesha Malik will be celebrated in true spirit and without reservations.
—The writer is an advocate, based in Karachi.
