Judicial Appointments Commission Bill,2013

• The Rajya Sabha on Sep 2013 passed a Constitution amendment Bill to create a Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) which will replace the collegium system of appointing judges to higher courts.


• The Constitution (120th Amendment) Bill, 2013 envisages setting up of the JAC, to be decided by Parliament, that will recommend appointment and transfer of Supreme Court and High Court judges. Currently, the collegium consisting of five top judges of the Supreme Court, headed by the Chief Justice of India, decides the appointment of judges to higher courts.


• It was in 1993 that the judiciary “rewrote the Constitution” when it introduced the collegium system of appointing judges to higher courts, disturbing the delicate balance between the judiciary, the legislature and the executive