President Arif Alvi gave his final permission on Friday to Justice Ayesha Malik of the Lahore High Court’s elevation to the Supreme Court. Justice Ayesha will be Pakistan’s first female Supreme Court judge in the country’s judicial history. On Monday, January 24, she will be sworn into office, and her term will begin immediately. Gulzar Ahmad, Pakistan’s Chief Justice, will administer the oath to Malik. Her inauguration will take place in the Supreme Court. There will be Supreme Court judges in attendance, as well as the Pakistani attorney general and the advocate general. President Alvi had authorized her appointment under sub-section one of Article 177 of the Constitution, according to a notification released by the Ministry of Law and Justice. Her inauguration will take place in the Supreme Court. There will be Supreme Court judges in attendance, as well as the Pakistani attorney general and advocate general. President Alvi had authorised her appointment under sub-section one of Article 177 of the Constitution, according to a notification released by the Ministry of Law and Justice. The president’s assent comes after the Parliamentary Committee on Judges Appointments gave its formal consent to the promotion this past Wednesday. After the Judicial Commission of Pakistan ultimately agreed to Justice Ayesha’s nomination, the committee, chaired by Law Minister Farooq H. Naek, voted to grant her promotion.
After a heated debate over whether judges should be chosen based on merit or seniority, Pakistan’s Judicial Commission authorised the elevation on January 7 with a vote of five in favour and four against. It’s worth noting that Justice Ayesha Malik is the fourth most senior judge on the Lahore High Court, yet she’s universally regarded as a skilled judge. While supporting the nomination, Law Minister Naek stated that the court would not abolish the practise of appointing justices based on seniority, but that Malik’s appointment as the first woman Supreme Court judge “will benefit the country.”
Senator Farooq H. Naek, the head of the parliamentary committee that approved her appointment, said the committee still believed in the principle of seniority in appointing judges, but that the approval for Justice Malik was given because it was the first time a woman was being elevated to the apex court.
“In the national interest,” the senator said, “we have authorised Justice Malik’s name.” Earlier this month, the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) accepted Justice Malik’s elevation to the Supreme Court by a vote of five to four in a tense session that lasted nearly three and a half hours.
