In any judicial reform initiative for efficient and effective service delivery, merit‐based competitive recruitment should be the starting point. Hon’ble the Chief Justice has expressed a vision for revamping the judicial service recruitment process, as part of his greater vision for judicial reforms. Earlier, input has been sought from the District Judiciary (letter # 6996‐7041/Admn., dated 14 April 2017) regarding specific areas of reforms, including recruitment. Till date, barring a few districts and a couple of special courts, the input from most of the districts is still awaited.
In the meanwhile, Hon'ble Chief Justice has desired that the issue of recruitment be pursued on priority basis and that all Judicial Officers be involved regarding the proposed options for entry to judicial service.
Hon’ble the Chief Justice has mandated a team of Judicial Officers to work on certain reforms for improvement in the service delivery of the District Judiciary. For ensuring such improvements, specific areas were identified for consideration. Those areas are: first, establishment of a Secretariat for District Judiciary (SDJ); second, re-designing the PER policy/form; and, third, proposing relevant amendments in the law. Till date, the team has been able to prepare a draft for the establishment of the SDJ, propose a new PER policy/form and suggest relevant amendments in the N.W.F.P Judicial Service Rules, 2001 (substituted).