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This collage shows Supreme Court judge Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail and Federal Constitutional Court judge Justice Aamer Farooq. — SC and IHC websites/File
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ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Tuesday announced the restructuring of three important constitutional and statutory judicial bodies under the revised framework introduced by the 27th Constitutional Amendment.
According to a press release issued by the apex court, the reorganization covers three major bodies – the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), and the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Committee.
For the Supreme Judicial Council, Justice Jamal Khan Mandukhil, who is the next senior judge of the Supreme Court, has been jointly nominated by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi and Chief Justice of the Federal Constitutional Court Aminuddin Khan under Article 209, Clause 2 (d) of the Constitution of Pakistan.
After the joining of Justice Mandukhil, the SJC will now comprise of CJP Afridi, FCCCJ Aminuddin, SC Judge Justice Muneeb Akhtar, FCC Judge Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Lahore High Court (LHC) CJ Ablia High Court (IHC) CJCJCJCJCJCJCJCJCJCJCJCJ.
Further, the Chief Justice has nominated Justice Jamal Khan Mandukil as a member of the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Committee, constituted under section 2 of the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act, 2023.
Under the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure), Act 2023, the committee will now consist of Chief Justice Afridi, Justice Akhtar, and Justice Mandukhel.
For the Judicial Commission of Pakistan, Justice Aamir Farooq – who is the next most senior judge of the Federal Constitutional Court – is jointly nominated by the Chief Justice of Pakistan and the Chief Justice of the Federal Constitutional Court under clause 2 (IIIA) of Article 175A of the Constitution.
JCP now CJP, FCC Chief Justice, Justice Akhtar, FCC Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Aamir Farooq, Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mazi Usman, two representatives of Prime Minister Nazir Beyah Council (PBC representatives), nominated by the Senate and a woman or non-Muslim National Assembly Speaker.
The press release concluded that, “The reconstituted bodies will continue to play a central role in matters of accountability, judicial appointments, and procedural governance under the restructured organizations.
This comes days after the reorganization when the ruling coalition led by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) passed the 27th Amendment, which changed the judicial structure and military command.
A major structural change came in the form of the FCC, which was established as a new judicial forum with equal representation from all provinces. The amendment empowered the FCC to exercise moot authority over applications.
The judicial review, a part of the latest amendments, not only paved the way for the dissolution of the constitution benches but also, through the Supreme Court Practice and Procedure (Amendment) Bill, 2025, transferred the authority to constitute trial benches to a three-member committee headed by the Chief Justice.
The amendment assigns key roles in judicial appointments to the President and Prime Minister, while reducing some of the powers of the Supreme Court and transferring some of its powers to the newly established FCC.
After the amendment was passed, Supreme Court judges Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Athar Mainala resigned from their posts in separate letters to President Asif Ali Zardari.
Jurists criticized the 27th Amendment, calling it “a serious attack on the Constitution of Pakistan”. However, the federal government termed the judges’ resignations as “political speeches” and the latter’s charges as “unconstitutional”.
Two days later, LHC judge Shams Mehmood Mirza followed in the footsteps of the jurists and resigned “in protest against the newly enacted 27th Constitutional Amendment”.
