The Judicial Commission has decided to convene a meeting before the completion of the one-year tenure of nine additional judges of the Lahore High Court. Performance reports of these judges have been sent to the Judicial Commission.The nine additional judges of the Lahore High Court took oath on February 10, 2025. Their one-year term is scheduled to end on February 10, 2026.

However, a decision on whether to confirm them as permanent judges or not will be made before the completion of their tenure. In this regard, a meeting of the Judicial Commission will be held in the second week of January. The nine additional judges include Justice Hassan Nawaz Makhdum, Justice Malik Waqar Haider Awan, Justice Sardar Akbar Dogar, Justice Ahsan Raza Kazmi, Justice Malik Javed Iqbal Venus, Justice Jawad Zafar, Justice Khalid Ishaq, Justice Malik Owais Khalid, and Justice Chaudhry Sultan Mahmood. 

The Judicial Commission had written a letter to the Lahore High Court seeking reports on the judgments delivered by the nine additional judges. In response, the High Court forwarded detailed performance reports of all nine judges to the Commission. According to the reports, Justice Hassan Nawaz Makhdum delivered seven judgments in ten months that are considered judicial precedents.

Justice Malik Waqar Haider Awan delivered 17 such judgments, Justice Sardar Akbar Dogar 11, Justice Ahsan Raza Kazmi 19, Justice Javed Iqbal Venus 22, Justice Jawad Zafar 17, Justice Khalid Ishaq 18, Justice Malik Owais Khalid 15, and Justice Sultan Mahmood 12 judgments that are regarded as judicial precedents. In legal terminology, these are referred to as “reported judgments.”

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)