Chief Justice Ahmed Faiz Hussain has said that the judiciary is affected by every irregularity in the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), and that the policies governing JSC must be strengthened before the judiciary can be reformed.

Faiz said this while speaking at a ceremony held yesterday (Sunday) to present letter of appointment to seven new judges appointed to three superior courts.

“Decisions and policies made by JSC are sometimes filed to courts, and there are delays in the services that must be provided by JSC in relation to these cases. JSC needs to be strengthened in terms of how they deal with determining policies. It is imperative that more discussion takes place in determining the policies,” he said.

He said that delays in such matters will affect the courts and the judicial sector, and that JSC is constituted based on a failed model.

“Recently, we met a senior, experienced judge from South Africa. We discussed the problems faced by us, and the retired judge said that this model had failed in their country as well. So my question is, shouldn’t the relevant authorities and the honourable members of the parliament be thinking about changing the JSC model? The judiciary can only be reformed by changing the JSC model. As long as this model lasts, it would not be easy to strengthen the judiciary,” he said.