SUPREME COURT OF PAKISTAN
Supreme Court of Pakistan
Before going to write about the Supreme Court of Pakistan, I will through light
on some important things which are given below.
What is a court?
“A court is an institution with authority to judge, often as a government
institution, with the authority to settle legal disputes between parties and carry out
the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in
accordance with the rule of law.”
Types of courts in Pakistan:
There are basically two types of courts, the detail of which is given below.
Types of courts in Pakistan
Constitutional Courts Ordinary Courts
7 Constitutional Courts I. District & Sessions Courts
I. Supreme Court of Pakistan II. Family Courts
II. Lahore High Court III. Army Courts
III. Peshawar High Court IV. Banking Courts
IV. Sindh High Court V. NAB Courts
V. Baluchistan High Court VI. Special Tribunals and board
VI. Islamabad High Court etc…
VII. Federal Shari’at Court
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Supreme Court of Pakistan:
Supreme Court is one of the courts working in Pakistan. It may be defined as;
Definition of Supreme Court:
“Supreme Court is the superior court of a country and the place of last
approach. Its decisions and orders are binding upon all the other courts of a
country. All executive and judicial authorities are also bound to the orders of
Supreme Court.”
Topics of Discussion:
The main topics discussed related to Supreme Court of Pakistan are;
I. Brief history of Supreme Court
II. Judges of the Supreme Court
III. The Judicature
IV. Distinctive authorities of the Supreme Court
V. Pending cases in the Supreme Court
VI. Current Chief Justice of Pakistan
VII. Previous Chief Justice
I. Brief history of Supreme Court of Pakistan:
Supreme Court of Pakistan was established in 1947 under Government
of India Act, 1947, as the Federal Court of Pakistan.
The Supreme Court's constitutional restructure and recreation was
reviewed by the 1956 constitution.
It has retained its name and jurisdiction through the successive legal
instruments since 1973.
In 1980, Muhammad Ziaul Haq established Federal Shariat Court
under the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
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The supreme court of Pakistan was in Karachi at the time of
independence which was later on transferred to Islamabad and is
still located in Islamabad.
II. Judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan:
The Supreme Court shall consist of a Chief Justice to be known as the Chief
Justice of Pakistan and so many other Judges as may be determined by Act of
Parliament or, until so determined, as may be fixed by the President.
The Part VII of the Constitution of Pakistan reconstituted the composition of
Supreme Court and the high courts but it does not specify the number of justices
to be served in the Supreme Court.
In 1947, the Supreme Court consisted of a Chief Justice and six senior judges
from Sindh, Punjab, NWFP, Balochistan, and East Bengal. Over the several
successive years, the work of the Court increased and cases began to accumulate,
leading the Supreme Court requesting the Parliament to increase the number of
judges.
1. Current number of judges in Supreme Court of Pakistan:
By an Act of Parliament of 1997, there is a fixed number of justices at 17,
including Chief Justice of Pakistan. And there are currently seventeen judges
working. There are two ad-hoc appointment of the jurists from the Federal
Shariat Court to assist with religiosity concerned cases.
2. Appointment of chief justice of Pakistan:
The chief justice of Pakistan is appointed by the president of Pakistan. The
person appointed would have been the senior judge of the Supreme Court.
3. Appointment of judges of Supreme Court:
Judges of the Supreme Court are appointed through the Judicial Commission which
is chaired by the chief justice of Pakistan. The selected person is transferred to
Prime Minister who may appoint him or her as a judge of Supreme Court.
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4. Eligibility criteria for the Judges of the Supreme Court:
The nomination of justices in the Supreme Court comes from an executive
selection made by the Prime Minister based on judges' merited qualifications,
personal intellectualism, and experiences as judge in high courts.
The President then confirms the nomination summary and eventually appoints the
Chief Justice and judges in the Supreme Court.
The Constitution states that a nominee is not eligible unless he is:
A citizen of Pakistan who:
Has for a period of, or for periods aggregating, not less than five years been a
judge of a High Court.
Has for a period of, or for periods aggregating not less than fifteen years been
an advocate of a High Court.
III. The Judicature:
The Part VII of the Constitution, ranges from articles 176 through 191, deals
with the powers, composition, rules, and responsibilities of the Supreme Court.
These articles concern:
Article 176 – Composition of the Court
Article 177 – Appointment and qualifications of the Chief Justice
Article 178 – Oath of office
Article 179 – Retirement
Article 180 – Vacancy, absence, or inability of the Chief Justice
Article 181 – Vacancy, absence, or inability of other justices
Article 182 – Ad hoc appointments of justices
Article 183 – Location of Court
Article 184 – Jurisdiction in a dispute between two or more governments
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Article 185 – Jurisdiction to hear and determine appeals
Article 186 – If requested, advise the President on important matters of law
Article 186A – Authority to transfer venue
Article 187 – Orders and subpoenas
Article 188 – Power to review its own judgments and orders
Article 189 – Binding nature of Supreme Court's decisions on all other Pakistani
Courts
Article 190 – All executive and judicial authorities in Pakistan bound to aid the
Supreme Court.
IV. SOME DISTINCTIVE AUTHOROTIES GIVEN TO SUPREME
COURT:
1. Decisions of Supreme Court binding on other Courts:
Any decision of the Supreme Court shall, to the extent that it decides a question
of law or is based upon or enunciates a principle of law, be binding on all other
courts in Pakistan.
2. Solution of disputes between Governments:
The Supreme Court shall, to the exclusion of every other court, have original
jurisdiction in any dispute between any two or more Governments. Where
"Governments" means the Federal Government and the Provincial Governments.
3. Transfer of cases:
The supreme court of Pakistan may transfer any case pending in a high court to
other high court.
4. Review of orders:
The Supreme Court may review any judgment or order made by it.
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5. Rules of procedure:
The Supreme Court may make Rules of Procedure of the Court, subject to law and
constitution.
6. Action in aid of Supreme Court:
All Executive and Judicial Authorities throughout Pakistan shall act in aid of the
Supreme Court of Pakistan.
V. Pending cases in Supreme Court:
There are 9,368 civil cases are pending with the apex court at its different
registries, including Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, and Quetta. When it comes to
constitutional cases, around 19,374 petitions are awaiting justice, while
2,249 jail petitions are yet to be decided by the top court of Pakistan.
VI. Current Chief Justice of Pakistan:
Currently Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa is serving as the Chief Justice of Pakistan
who became Chief Justice in the year 2019.
VII. Previous chief justice:
Justice (R) Saqib Nisar served as a Chief Justice before the tenure of justice Asif
Sayeed Khan Khosa.
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References:
The Constitution of Pakistan.
Wikipedia www.wikipedia.com
Online lectures on “supreme court of Pakistan and its
judges”
Official website of supreme court of Pakistan
www.supremecourt.gov.pk
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