A long-awaited meeting of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan will take place later today (Wednesday) to discuss new appointments to the country’s highest court.

The meeting is set to be held at the Supreme Court of Pakistan at 3pm.

Reports said that the appointment of Justice Mussarat Hilali, who is currently serving as the chief justice of the Peshawar High Court, is likely to come under consideration.

The Supreme Court currently has slots for 17 judges of which only 15 are serving. However, the meeting of the commission has not been called in 10 months despite the two vacancies.

The first of these two seats became empty when Justice Mazhar Alam reitred on July 13 last year. The second seat became vacant exactly one month later when Justice Sajjad Ali Shah retired on August 13.

On May 1, reports claimed that Justice Qazi had written a letter to all members of the commission recommending that Justice Hilali and Justice Ahmed Ali Sheikh be appointed to the Supreme Court.

Who is part of the commission

The Judicial Commission of Pakistan is made up of nine members in a fixed structure. It contains chief justice of Pakistan along with four of the senior most judges in the court.

The commission also includes a former Supreme Court judge, and a senior lawyer who is part of the Pakistan bar council, both of whom are appointed through consultation.

To represent the government, the commission also has seats for the attorney general and the law minister.

The current members of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan are:

• Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial
• Justice Qazi Faez Isa
• Justice Sardar Tariq Masood
• Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan
• Justice Mansoor Ali Shah
• Justice (retired) Sarmad Jalal Osmany
• Advocate Akhtar Hussain
• Attorney General Mansoor Awan
• Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar

What impact could new appointments have

Although appointments of judges are a continuous process, this particular cycle comes at a time when all might not be well within the court.

In a court that many say is divided into two camps, judges not shaking hands has become news and judges planting trees together has been seen as a statement.

In such an environment, newcomers could lend their weight to one particular side, leading to scales being decisively tipped to one side.

In any case, the decision on Justice Hilali’s appointment would have to be made quickly because she is set to retire in August.