Judicial Commission of Pakistan revises judge nomination rules to restrict relatives, limit nominee lists, expand evaluation options.

The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) has adopted changes that significantly tighten the procedure for nominating judges to the superior courts. The new rules prevent any JCP member from meaningfully nominating a relative or an associate from their legal firm. Each commission member is now restricted to submitting a number of nominations that does not exceed the currently announced vacancies, a limit that has not always been observed. The interview committee’s assessment scale has grown from two levels—"good" and "average"—to include a third "below average" option. The JCP also clarified that a nominee may be considered for a judgeship no more than twice; a third consideration would result in disqualification. In addition to nomination rules, the commission is drafting new regulations for the annual performance evaluation of high court judges. The proposed "Judicial Performance Evaluation of High Court Judges" rules require each judge’s performance be assessed yearly based on factors such as case disposal rate, quality of judgments, and timeliness of decisions. The evaluation will occur between October and December, with reports submitted by December. If a judge is found to be inefficient, the commission will issue a written notice and grant a six‑month improvement period. After monitoring and potential additional training, a second performance review will decide whether the judge’s case is closed or the matter is escalated to the Supreme Judicial Council.