Memorandum of Procedure
Also called: MoP · Topic: Judiciary: Independence, Structure, Judicial Review and Activism · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) is the rulebook agreed between the government and the judiciary for appointing Supreme Court and High Court judges. It sets out each step: who suggests a name, who checks it and how the file moves to the President. The 1999 MoP is still the one in use. In its December 2015 order, after striking down the NJAC, the Supreme Court invited ideas to reform the collegium, and a revised MoP was meant to follow. That draft has been stuck since 2016-17.
Example
The revised draft has stalled over three issues: whether the government can reject a name on national-security grounds, whether there should be a secretariat to handle appointments, and what criteria should be used to choose judges (verify current status).
Don't confuse with
- Collegium system: the collegium is the group of senior judges who choose names. The MoP is only the written procedure that the collegium and the government follow.
- National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC): the NJAC was a constitutional body created by the 99th Amendment, 2014 and struck down in 2015. The MoP is an agreement, not a law.