Judicial appointments

The article, “Recasting the appointments debate” (Edit page, Dec. 13), rightly points to the need to link the proposal for the formation of the Judicial Appointments Commission with the Constitution. The fate of the CBI vis-à-vis the decision of the Gauhati High Court is worth recalling. The article also suggests that the qualities needed for judges be specified. In the U.K., five core qualities are enumerated to decide the merit of a judge: these are intellectual capacity, personal qualities (integrity, independence, judgment, decisiveness, objectivity, ability and willingness to learn), an ability to understand and deal fairly with cases, authority, and communication skills and efficiency.

Y.G. Chouksey,Pune