CJP Faez Isa’s retirement: much ado about nothing

ISLAMABAD: The city is buzzing with conjecture over the Supreme Court’s future composition, with Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa set to retire on October 25, 2024, and Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah as a possible successor.

Recent rumors, mostly propagated by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), point to moves to extend CJP Faez Isa’s mandate. However, even if the present administration wants to prolong his tenure, legal experts believe there is no constitutional basis for doing so without amending the constitution, which will be difficult given recent Supreme Court verdicts.

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Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar stated strongly, “Talk about extending or changing the tenure of judges is all nonsense and conjecture.”

Article 175-A(3) of the Pakistan constitution enshrines the idea of seniority in the nomination of the country’s chief judge. This cannot be avoided by conventional legislation or executive order, making any attempt to change the succession process extremely difficult from a legal sense.

According to sources familiar with the situation, conversations regarding potentially extending judicial tenures or raising the retirement age for Supreme Court justices have caused disquiet within the superior judiciary.

It is vital to note that any constitutional modification affecting the retirement age or term of judges would require a two-thirds majority in both chambers of parliament. A recent Supreme Court judgment on reserved seats that favored the PTI has made this much more difficult for the present administration, needing 224 members in the lower house and 65 in the upper house to enact any such legislation.

Furthermore, the contentious ‘Bandial verdict’ in the Pervaiz Elahi case of July 2022 prohibits MPs from voting across party lines in constitutional votes, severely restricting the government’s ability to gain extra votes through defections.

During these conversations, it has been stated that Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa is not interested in extending his tenure, which has apparently been expressed to the prime minister.