Supreme Court justice appointments back to old rules as three ordinances repealed

This means there is no longer a separate law for the appointment of Supreme Court justice or legal basis for an independent Secretariat for the top court

Parliament has repealed three ordinances issued by the interim government regarding the Supreme Court Secretariat and the appointment of judges to the top court, despite objections from the opposition over concerns regarding the independence of the judiciary.

The ordinances were scrapped by the passing of two separate bills in a meeting chaired by Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad on Thursday.

The ordinance regarding the appointment of judges was repealed by passing the “Supreme Court Judges Appointment Abolition Bill, 2026”.

And the “Supreme Court Secretariat Abolition Bill, 2026” repealed the Supreme Court Secretariat Ordinance and the Supreme Court Secretariat (Amendment) Ordinance.

This means there is currently no separate law for the appointment of Supreme Court judges. There is also no legal basis for establishing an independent Supreme Court Secretariat.

Accordingly, the appointment of judges and the administrative activities of the judiciary are returning to their previous structure.