Pakistan’s Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) has approved significant amendments to the Code of Conduct for judges, introducing new guidelines aimed at strengthening transparency, accountability, and ethical standards within the country’s superior judiciary. Under the revised framework, judges of superior courts will now be allowed to attend political or diplomatic events, but only after obtaining prior approval from their respective chief justices. This marks a major shift from the previous rules, which completely prohibited judges from participating in such gatherings.
The updated code has also been expanded to formally include the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), broadening its scope across key judicial institutions. In addition, stricter measures have been introduced to address any attempts to influence judicial decisions. Judges will now be required to immediately report any form of interference or external pressure to senior judicial authorities, who must then review and act on the matter within a specified timeframe. These reforms are being seen as an important step toward improving institutional coordination, reinforcing judicial independence, and promoting greater public trust in Pakistan’s legal system.
