Last night, Parliament approved the landmark 26th Amendment in the Constitution of Pakistan with a two-third majority with the support of Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman’s JUI as the government does not have the required majority in both houses of the highest legislative body.
First, the upper house, the Senate, passed the bill and then the lower house or National Assembly also approved it. Now after the signature of the President of the country, it will become law. President Zardari is likely to approve it today.
Below are the key points of the amendment:
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- The chief justice’s tenure is fixed at three years.
- Constitutional benches to be established at SC, high courts.
- Senior-most judge of each bench to serve as presiding officer
- Parliamentary committee to nominate new CJP from a panel of three most senior judges
- Committee to propose a name to PM, who will then forward it to the president for final approval
- JCP, led by CJP and three others, responsible for the appointment of SC judges
- JCP to monitor judges’ performance, and report any concerns to the Supreme Judicial Council
- Complete eradication of Riba (interest) from the country by January 1, 2028
