AS the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) prepares to convene to deliberate on nominees for the positions of chief justice in four high courts, pending petitions filed by five Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges and the Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA) will hang overthese proceedings.

The JCP meeting, originally scheduled for April 8, has now been rescheduled for April 11.

A JCP member told Dawn that the postponement was due to the unavailability of Senator Farooq H. Naek, who is attending the 150th Assembly of theInternational Parliamentary Union from April 5-9.

Sources said that besides Senator Naek, some other members were also unavailable for the April 8 meeting, leading to its rescheduling.

Legal experts believe that while the petitions filed by IHC judges do not directly impact the upcoming JCP meeting, the issue of `inter se seniority` among judges the relative seniority or ranking of individuals within the same category, group or service -must be decided once and for all.

Former Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) Vice Chairman and JCP member Senator Farooq H. Naek said that the judicial seniorityInternational Parliamentary Union from April 5-9.

Sources said that besides Senator Naek, some other members were also unavailable for the April 8 meeting, leading to its rescheduling.

Legal experts believe that while the petitions filed by IHC judges do not directly impact the upcoming JCP meeting, the issue of `inter se seniority` among judges the relative seniority or ranking of individuals within the same category, group or service -must be decided once and for all.

Former Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) Vice Chairman and JCP member Senator Farooq H. Naek said that the judicial seniorityissue must be settled to avoid such disagreements among judges in the future.

However, he clarified that the pending petitions would not affect the JCP`s discussions, as the five judges who challenged their lowered seniority did not seek relief from the commission or make it a party in their petition.

Senator Naek said the JCP might respond to the issue if a member raises a query about it during the upcoming session.

The JCP meeting is also expected to consider the elevation of two judges from the Lahore High Court to the Supreme Court, as well as the appointment of regular judges infour high courts (except the LHC).

Origins of seniority dispute The controversy began in February following the transfer of three high court judges to the IHC Justice Sardar Mohammad Sarfraz Dogar from the Lahore High Court (LHC), Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro from the Sindh High Court (SHC), and Justice Mohammad Asif from the Balochistan High Court (BHC).

Justice Dogar was appointed to the LHC on June 8, 2015, whereas the senior-most judge among the five petitioners, Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, was appointed to the IHC on Dec 23, 2015.

Under the new JCP rules, thetop three nominees for IHC chief justice would be Justice Dogar, Justice Kayani and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb.

Since Justice Aurangzeb is currently an acting Supreme Court judge,heisnotaparty tothe seniority dispute.

IHC judges Justice Kayani, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Justice Babar Sattar, Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz have filed a petition in the Supreme Court, contesting the transfer of the three judges to the IHC and its impact on judicial seniority.

However, the newly elected IHCBA leadership has yet to make a firm decision on whether to pursue the petition filed by their predecessors. IHCBA President Syed Wajid Ali Gillani said that his cabinet would deliberate on the matter before making a decision.

Unlike the previous IHCBA body, which was headed by Advocate Riasat Ali Azad and firmly opposed the transfers, the new leadership will not show rigidity on the issue of transferred judges, insiders claim.

An IHCBA delegation recently held a cordial meeting with the acting IHC chief justice and raised many issues related to the welfare of the legal fraternity, including the construction of chambers for the lawyers.

Justice Aamer Farooq`s ruling Former IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq, now a Supreme Court judge, had already dismissed the objections raised by the five petitioners, upholding the revised seniority list.

In his ruling, Justice Farooq cited Article 200 of the Constitution, which allows the president of Pakistan to transfer judges between high courts with their consent and following consultations with the chief justice of Pakistan and the relevant high court chiefs.

He maintained that while the transfers were consti-tutionally valid, they did not constitute new appointments or alter the seniority of the transferred judges in the receiving court.

Following the dismissal of their petition, the five IHC judges have now approached the Supreme Court for a final decision. The apex court`s constitutional bench has yet to take up the matter.

Legal experts divided Some legal experts believe that no appointment should be made to the post of IHC chief justice until the seniority dispute is resolved.

Advocate Kashif Ali Malik believes that to avoid any complications, the Supreme Court should decide on the seniority of the judges first.

Legal expert Raja Khalid Mehmood Khan, on the other hand, said that for the appointment of an IHC chief justice, the JCP would consider three names, i.e.

Justices Dogar, Kayani and Aurangzeb.

He said that despite being in the Supreme Court, Justice Aurangzeb is still a contender for the post of IHC chief justice.

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Yahya Afridi, in a recent interaction with journalists, also made it clear that Justice Aurangzeb `is very much in the race` for the position.