A sub-committee will convene on Sunday (today) to deliberate on proposed constitutional amendments currently under consideration. This follows a decision made during a meeting of the Parliament’s special committee on Saturday, which formed the sub-committee to focus on these amendments.

The PML-N-led coalition government shared its proposed amendments, which include the creation of a new Constitutional Court and its structure. The court would consist of seven members, including the Chief Justice and two senior-most judges. A retired judge would also be nominated by the Chief Justice of the new court.

The amendments propose the establishment of a commission to oversee the appointment of judges to high courts and the Shariat Court. This commission would be chaired by the Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court and include the two senior-most judges of the court, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and two senior-most judges of the Supreme Court.

Additionally, the commission would feature the law minister, the attorney general, a senior advocate, and two members from both the National Assembly and Senate, who would play a role in the appointment of judges to the Constitutional Court.

For the initial appointments of the first Chief Justice and three senior judges of the Federal Constitutional Court, a parliamentary committee comprising four members of parliament, the federal law minister, and a representative of the Pakistan Bar Council would make recommendations. The Prime Minister would forward these recommendations to the President, who would make the final appointments.

The proposed amendments also stipulate that the Federal Constitutional Court will have seven judges, with one judge each from the four provinces and one from the federal capital. Additionally, two expert judges would be appointed to the court.