Justice Mansoor Ali Shah was assigned administrative duties by former Chief Justice of Pakistan, Qazi Faiz Isa. However, he declined to sign the administrative files sent to him and returned them, stating his decision to withdraw from the position.
Previously, Justice Shah expressed his views on the rules regarding the appointment of judges in a letter to the Secretary of the Judicial Commission. He opposed involving intelligence agencies in the judicial appointment process, arguing that their role could be misused.
“The executive already holds a majority in the Judicial Commission. I have clarified my stance on the 26th Amendment,” Justice Shah wrote. He recommended forming a full court to review the 26th Amendment and proposed establishing a mechanism for appointing judges to the constitutional bench.
He suggested that one criterion for appointing judges to the constitutional bench could be the number of constitutional interpretation decisions they have made.
Justice Jamal Mandokhail, Chairman of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) rules-making committee, responded to Justice Shah’s earlier letter. He explained that the Judicial Commission was restructured following the 26th Constitutional Amendment and authorized the Chief Justice to form a committee for drafting rules.
Justice Mandokhail, leading the rules committee, noted that Justice Shah’s suggestions had already been incorporated into the draft rules, which had been shared with him prior to his correspondence.
