JCP begins process to fill 10 Lahore High Court vacancies

ISLAMABAD: The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) has formally started the process for appointing 10 additional judges to the Lahore High Court (LHC), moving a day after it approved new interview rules for judicial appointments.

An official communication circulated by the JCP Secretariat stated that nominations for the LHC seats have been sought on the prescribed format and must be submitted by July 4. That, after the nominations are compiled, the commission is expected to hold sessions from July 21 to 23 to assess and finalise appointments for the Lahore, Sindh and Balochistan high courts. Recommendations for the Peshawar High Court are also being finalised and are expected to come before the commission in the same period.

New rules approved

The latest move follows Friday’s JCP meeting chaired by Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi, who heads the commission. During that meeting, 20 members of the 35-member body backed the Inter­views of Judges Appointment Rules as well as amendments to the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (Appointment of Judges) Rules, 2024.

The development follows the 27th Constitutional Amendment, which changed Article 175A(4) and authorised the JCP to frame its own rules for assessing, evaluating and determining the professional fitness of candidates for judgeship. Before these rules were put in place, appointments across a number of provincial high courts had been slowed by rising vacancies and a growing case backlog.

The commission, however, postponed consideration of the Judicial Performance Evaluation of High Court Judges Rules, 2026, and decided to seek written input from provincial chief justices within seven days.

Interview panel and internal debate

Under the approved framework, a seven-member panel will conduct structured interviews of shortlisted candidates. The panel’s recommendations will not be binding on the full commission, which will retain the authority to make final decisions through a majority vote.

The size and scope of the panel were discussed extensively before the rules were adopted. The framework was prepared by a five-member rule-making sub-committee comprising Federal Constitutional Court Justice Aamer Farooq, Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan, Senator Farooq H. Naek, Senator Syed Ali Zafar and Pakistan Bar Council representative Muhammad Ahsan Bhoon.

During the deliberations, Senator Ali Zafar and Supreme Court Justice Munib Akhtar opposed assigning the screening stage to a smaller body. Justice Akhtar argued that making interviews compulsory through a sub-committee could create logistical difficulties given the large number of nominees and maintained that evaluation was the collective responsibility of the entire JCP. In contrast, the attorney general, Justice Aamer Farooq and Ahsan Bhoon supported a smaller five-member screening body. Senator Farooq H. Naek proposed a broader arrangement that was ultimately approved by a majority.

The panel will include a designated JCP judge from either the Supreme Court or the Federal Constitutional Court, the senior-most chief justice among all provincial high courts, the chief justice of the high court where the vacancy exists, the attorney general for Pakistan, one treasury-side parliamentary representative, one opposition-side parliamentary representative and a designated nominee from the Pakistan Bar Council representing the executive.

Two JCP members from PTI, Barrister Syed Ali Zafar and Gohar Ali Khan, were not present during Friday’s final vote.

Phased appointments for LHC

Although nearly one-fifth of sanctioned positions in the LHC are vacant, the commission has decided to proceed in phases and fill 10 seats in the first round.

At the provincial level, consultations have already begun. LHC Chief Justice Aalia Neelum has held preliminary administrative meetings with senior lawyers and state law officers. Those involved in the consultative review include Punjab Advocate General Amjad Pervaiz, Islamabad Prosecutor General Ghulam Sarwar Nihang and other senior advocates, with the exercise aimed at assessing candidates from both the bar and the subordinate judiciary.

After the July 4 deadline, the pool of nominees will be examined under the 2026 rules. Shortlisted candidates will then appear before the seven-member panel, after which its recommendations will be sent to the full commission for confirmation before the end of July.