The 26th Constitutional Amendment is gradually approaching completion. The first major achievement under this amendment was the appointment of a new Chief Justice. Now, in a subsequent step, a constitutional bench has been established under the same amendment. The Judicial Commission, formed as part of this amendment, has now set up the nation’s first constitutional bench.
One sign of the amendment’s success is that the political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) participated in the Judicial Commission’s meeting, using its right to vote—a step that signals broad acceptance. Additionally, Justices Mansoor Ali Shah and Muneeb Akhtar attended, reflecting the amendment’s growing acceptance.
The appointment of Justice Aminuddin as the head of the constitutional bench is not unexpected; in fact, his selection was almost certain under the prevailing judicial principles, such as the Lahore High Court’s recent precedent that precluded senior judges who had been bypassed for promotion from taking on additional roles.
Parliament’s objectives for the amendment have largely been met: the Parliamentary Commission was formed, the Chief Justice was appointed, and a constitutional bench, complete with a designated head, is now functional. Despite attempts from within Parliament to obstruct the amendment, it successfully passed. Specific seats for bench judges and clarifications issued at various stages also seemed to attempt to delay or hinder the amendment’s approval. In the end, however, the amendment supporters prevailed.
Before the Judicial Commission’s recent meeting, attempts were made to challenge the amendment, particularly through a call for a full-court hearing. However, the Chief Justice of Pakistan halted this move by refusing to schedule the requests for a full-court hearing, following the amendment’s stipulation that only the constitutional bench can hear constitutional matters.
During the tenure of former Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, similar efforts were made to side-line certain judicial processes, but the “Practice and Procedure Act” provided a framework to maintain judicial independence. Recent moves have confirmed the necessity of this act, indicating that Parliament made the right call to preserve the integrity of the Chief Justice’s role.
While the 26th amendment has achieved many of its goals, challenges continue. Even with the formation of the constitutional bench, opposition remains active, and further attempts to derail the amendment may arise. For now, the presence of the constitutional bench is expected to help regulate judicial activism, and important cases will now go directly to this bench, though it’s unlikely that this will end the contention entirely.