The Supreme Court of Pakistan ( SCP; ) is the supreme judicial authority and the apex court of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
Established in accordance with Part VII of the Constitution of Pakistan, it has ultimate and extensive appellate, original, and advisory jurisdictions on all courts (including the high courts, district, special and Shariat court), involving issues of laws and may act on the verdicts rendered on the cases in context in which it enjoys jurisdiction. In the court system of Pakistan, the Supreme Court is the final arbiter of legal disputes and was the final interpreter of constitutional law until the Twenty-seventh Amendment created the Federal Constitutional Court of Pakistan, and the highest court of appeal in Pakistan.
Currently, the Supreme Court is incorporated of Chief Justice of Pakistan, seventeen justices, and two ad-hoc appointments for Shariat Appellate Bench. Once appointed, justices are expected to complete a designated term and then retire at 65 years old, unless their term is terminated through resignation or impeachment by the supreme judicial committee resulted in a presidential reference in regards to the misconduct of judge(s). In their discourse judgement, the justices are often categorised as having the conservative, textual, moderate, and liberal philosophies of law in their judicial interpretation of law and judgements.
The Supreme Court has a permanent seat in Islamabad and meets at the Supreme Court Building at the Red Zone.
History
In 1861, the British government in India enacted the Indian High Courts Act that created the high courts in all over the Indian subcontinent in various provinces while abolishing the supreme courts Calcutta, Bombay, Madras, Lahore, and also the Panchayati system in autonomous presidencies.
Until the enactment of the Government of India Act 1935 in 1935 that created the Federal Court, these new high courts had the distinctionary powers of being the highest Courts for all cases. The Federal Court had wide range of jurisdictions to resolve disputes between the provinces, presidencies, and the Government of India Act 1935, often hearing appeals against judgements of the High Courts.
After the partition of India in 1947, the Federal Court was also partitioned between India and Pakistan as Justice Sir Harilal Kania became the first Chief Justice of India and Justice Sir Abdul Rashid becoming the first Chief Justice of Pakistan.
While the tradition of British law culture continues to remain an integral part of the judiciary, the modern existence of the Supreme Court of Pakistan came when the first set of the Constitution of Pakistan was promulgated on 23 March 1956. The ratification of the Constitution of Pakistan reestablished the Supreme Court in 1956, replacing the name "Federal Court" to "Supreme Court", initially had its seat in Karachi where the Sindh High Court exists now. In successive years, the Supreme Court was moved to Lahore High Court until the Supreme Court was permanently moved into its new building constructed in Islamabad in 1964.
Constitutional composition Constitution of the court
Although the Supreme Court was established pursuant to the Government of India Act 1935, the modern structure of the court was reestablished by the second set in 1956, and restructured by the Constitution of Pakistan in 1973 where a significant part of the Constitution is dedicated towards the restructuring of the Supreme Court.
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 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 judgements 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
Size of Court 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. Qualifications to be served as a supreme court justice are strictly imposed that are based on merit, personal intellectualism, and experiences as a judge in the high courts.Article 175A(1)-Article 175A(7) in the Chapter 1: The Courts. of Part VII: The Judicature in the Constitution of Pakistan.
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. As the number of the justices has increased, they sit in smaller benches of two or three (referred to as a division bench), however, coming together in larger benches of five or more (referred to as a constitution bench) when required to settle fundamental questions of law.
Eligibility, nomination and confirmation
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 they are:
A citizen of PakistanArticle 177(2) in Chapter 2: The Supreme Court of Pakistan in Part VII: The Judicature of Constitution of Pakistan who: has for a period of, or for periods aggregating, not less than five years been a judge of a High Court (including a High Court which existed in Pakistan at any time before the commencing day); orArticle 177(2)(a) in Chapter 2: The Supreme Court of Pakistan in Part VII: The Judicature of Constitution of Pakistan has for a period of, or for periods aggregating not less than fifteen years been an advocate of a High Court (including a High Court which existed in Pakistan at any time before the commencing day).
Since the 1990s, the nomination and confirmation process has attracted considerable attention from the print press and electronic media, as news media often comments on the executive's selection for the appointment. Appointments of Chief Justices Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui, S.A. Shah, Iftikhar Chaudhry, Faisal Arab, and T.H. Jillani Saqib Nisar and Asif Saeed Khosa have gain prominent attention from media in all over the country, mainly due to their ideological and philosophical leanings.
Furthermore, the major and influential recommendations for judges to be elevated at the Supreme Court as justices comes from the Judicial Commission that is chaired by the Chief Justice of Pakistan who prepares the qualification summary before the nomination sent to executive.Article 175(A)(1)–175(A)(17) in Chapter 1: The Courts in Part VII: The Judicature of Constitution of Pakistan
Ad–hoc appointments and removal There has been Ad hoc appointment in the Supreme Court made when the quorum of Judges is not possible to complete the sitting number of justices in the court, or if it is necessary to increase the number of justices in the Supreme Court. The nomination comes directly from the Judicial Commission chaired by the Chief Justice who prepares the nomination summary as President confirms their appointments.
As of current, there are two justices are on the ad hoc appointment that are from the Federal Sharia Court.
A judge of the Supreme Court can be removed under the Constitution only on grounds of proven misconduct or incapacity and by an order of the President of Pakistan. A written reference has to be sent to the Supreme Judicial Council that will conduct the hearings of allegations of misconduct that would determine the removal of judge.
Tenureship, salaries and post-retirement The Judicial Commission determines the salary, other allowances, leave of absence, pension, etc. of the Supreme Court justices. A Supreme Court justice gets ₨. 558,907.00 ($5,333.85) with additional allowances of ₨. 259,009.00 ($2471.81). Other benefits include the free housing and medical treatment as well as tax-free electricity bills. A judge who has retired as a justice of the Supreme Court is debarred from practising in any court of law or before any other authority in Pakistan.
Judicial independence
The Supreme Court has the explicit de jure powers and enjoys the powerful judicial independence to block the exercise of certain Prime Minister's executive powers or Parliament's legislative powers that repugnant to Constitution. The Supreme Court has maintained its institutional integrity and has been able to maintain its authority to some degree in the face of martial law in Pakistan in last decades.
In another example of a de jure power granted to the Court, article 17 of the Constitution states:
The Supreme Court thus provides, in principle, an important safeguard against the abuse of laws that could potentially have politically repressive consequences or in clear violation of human rights.
The Constitution also allows the Supreme Court to exercise powers and take sua sponte actions against the person, regardless of its statue, or the authority, of being disobedient to or disrespectful towards the Supreme Court, its justices, and its officers in the form of behaviour that opposes or defies the Supreme Court's institutional integrity and popular authority.
In 1997, Chief Justice S.A. Shah found Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of contempt of court but the order itself was voided by the Supreme Judicial Council. In 2012, Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry retroactively barred Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani of holding the office after the latter was found of in charges of court of contempt and refusing to follow the court's orders.
In 2013, the Supreme Court took suo motu actions against populist Imran Khan of criticising against the judgement of the Supreme Court's senior judges in regards to the elections. The case was later dropped when Attorney-General assured the Supreme Court justices that Imran Khan did not insubordinate the judiciary.
26th amendment controversy Pakistani politicians have historically voiced concerns over judicial involvement in governance, often calling for a recalibration of power between the judiciary and the legislature. On 21 October 2024, the National Assembly passed the 26th Amendment in an hours-long, overnight session. Previously, the senior-most judge in the Supreme Court would automatically succeed as Chief Justice upon retirement of the incumbent at age 65. Under the new amendment, the Chief Justice of Pakistan will now be nominated by a Special Parliamentary Committee from among the three most senior judges of the Supreme Court, with a fixed term of three years.