Govts, parliaments hold sway in appointing judges globally

LAHORE: Appointment of higher court judges is carried out in many different ways in various systems throughout the world, though parliaments, monarchs or kings, presidents and prime ministers are the ultimate signing or approving authorities in this context, research shows.

Countries where national parliaments, monarchs, presidents and heads of government have a decisive role in respect of judicial appointments include: Argentina, Switzerland, Australia, India (President appoints arbiters with consent of Chief Justice), France, Canada, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Denmark (judges appointed by the monarch upon the recommendation of the Minister of Justice, with the advice of the Judicial Appointments Council, a 6-member independent body of judges and lawyers), Albania, Israel, Germany (Federal Court of Justice judges are selected by the Judges Election Committee, which consists of the Secretaries of Justice from each of the 16 federating states and 16 members appointed by the Federal Parliament; judges are ultimately appointed by the President), Mexico, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia (president of Supreme Court is nominated by the president of Croatia and other Supreme Court justices appointed by the National Judicial Council), Cuba, Estonia, Georgia, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, Namibia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Brazil, Brunei, Pakistan, Russia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Cyprus, the United States (federal judges are appointed by the president), Algeria, Zimbabwe, El Salvador, Angola, Armenia, Austria, Malta, Monaco, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Morocco, Estonia, Jordan, British Virgin Islands, Japan (Supreme Court justices are appointed by the government, but are reviewed in a popular referendum every 10 years), Finland, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Chad, Bermuda, Bhutan, South Korea, Chile, Dominican Republic (Supreme Court and Constitutional Court judges are appointed by the National Council of the Judiciary comprised of the president himself, the leaders of both chambers of congress, the president of the Supreme Court, and a non-governing party congressional representative), Ecuador (candidates for the National Court of Justice are evaluated and appointed by the Judicial Council, a 9-member independent body of law professionals), Kuwait, Egypt (all judges and justices are selected and appointed by the Supreme Judiciary Council and approved as a formality by the president of the Republic), Indonesia (Supreme Court judges are nominated by Judicial Commission, appointed by president with concurrence of parliament), North Korea, Kenya, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan etc.

A few exceptions and some additional notes: In Iran, the Supreme Court president is appointed by the head of the High Judicial Council, a 5-member body that includes the Supreme Court chief justice, prosecutor general, and 3 clergy, in consultation with judges of the Supreme Court.

In Iraq, Federal Supreme Court judges are nominated by the High Judicial Council president, the Apex Court Chief Justice, the public prosecutor’s office chief and the head of the Judicial Oversight Commission. In Lebanon, the court judges are appointed by the Supreme Judicial Council, a 10-member body headed by the chief justice and includes other judicial officials.

In China, the chief justice is appointed by the People’s National Congress (NPC); limited to two consecutive 5-year-terms; other justices and judges are nominated by the chief justice and appointed by the Standing Committee of the NPC; term of other justices and judges determined by the country’s National Congress.

Countries that also use some form of judge schools, examination and training programme to select their judges include: Austria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Nepal, Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Albania, Belgium, Croatia, Estonia, Georgia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia etc.

In Italy, Supreme Court judges are appointed by the High Council of the Judiciary, headed by the president of the republic. In the European Union, judges are appointed by the common consent of the member states to serve 6-year renewable terms.

In Bulgaria, judges are elected by the Supreme Judicial Council (comprising 25 members with extensive legal experience) and appointed by the President. In Ethiopia, the president and vice president of the Federal Supreme Court are recommended by the prime minister and appointed by the House of People’s Representatives; other Supreme Court judges are nominated by the Federal Judicial Administrative Council.

In Colombia, Supreme Court justices are chosen by members of the court, from a list of candidates. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, four Constitutional Court judges are selected by the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina House of Representatives, two are chosen by the National Assembly, and three non-Bosnian judges are handpicked by the President of the European Court of Human Rights.

Currently, Bolivia is the only country that elects the majority of its judges through popular vote, and the practice only commenced after the ratification of the new constitution in 2009. In Switzerland, federal judges are elected by parliament, and judges in the cantons are elected by citizens (through local political parties).

Originally published in The News