The 26th Constitutional Amendment, which introduced changes to the procedure of appointment of judges and the structure of judiciary, has been challenged in the Supreme Court by multiple petitioners.
Lawyers' organizations from Balochistan, including the Balochistan Bar Council and the Balochistan High Court Bar Association, filed separate petitions, requesting that the amendment be declared unconstitutional and against the core principles of the constitution.
They have named the law secretary and the chief secretaries of all provinces as respondents, contending that these changes interfere with judicial autonomy.
The petitions also request that the Judicial Commission be stopped from forming, holding meetings, or issuing orders under the new amendment. Additionally, the petitions ask the court to declare all actions taken as a result of the amendment null and void.
Moreover, a group of six prominent lawyers, including a former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, have also submitted a petition against the 26th Amendment, citing concerns over its impact on fundamental rights.
The petitioners plead for declaring the amendment unconstitutional and contrary to the fundamental rights and constitutional structure. They have also requested that the Judicial Commission be stopped from meeting for the appointment of judges.
The petition stresses that parliamentarians cannot be forced to vote for the amendment, adding that parliament is incomplete and there are legal questions over its constitutionality. They further argue that the independence of judiciary and separation of powers are the basic structure of the constitution, which the constitutional amendment cannot change.
A particular point of contention within the petition is the involvement of the Parliamentary Committee in the chief justice's appointment, which the petitioners claim is tantamount to interference in judicial matters. The amendment’s provision for creating constitutional benches at both federal and provincial levels was also akin to a parallel judicial system that challenges the authority of the Supreme Court.
The six lawyers, including Abid Zuberi, have made the federation and the provinces parties in the petition.
