Court System of Pakistan
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COURT SY STEM OF PAKIST AN STRUCTURE OF COURTS IN PAKISTAN y Supreme Court of Pakistan (Apex court) y F ederal Shariat Court of Pakistan y High Courts of Pakistan (one in ea ch province and also in federal capital) y District Courts of Pakistan (one in each district) y Judicial Magistrate Courts (with power of Section 30 o f Cr.PC only in criminal trials) y Judicial Magistrate Courts (in every town and city) y E xecutive Magistrate Courts (Summary trial court) y Courts of Civil Judge (judges with power of 1st class and 2nd class cases) SUPREME COURT OF PAKISTAN : The Supreme Court (Urdu: ) is the apex court in Pakistan's judicial hierarchy, the final arbiter of legal and constitutional disputes. The Supreme Court is made up of 17 permanent judges, and has a permanent seat in Islamabad. Cases are al so heard in its Branch Registries in the provincial capitals of Lahore, Peshawer, Quetta and Karachi. It has a number of de jure powers which are outlined in the Constitution, including appellate and constitutional jurisdiction, and suo moto power to try Human Rights matters. Through several periods of military rule and constitutional suspensions, the court has also established itself as a de facto check on military power. The Supreme Court Judges are supervised by the Supreme Judicial Council, which may hear complaints brought against any of them. APPOINTMENTS OF JUDGES Prior to 18th Constitutional Amendments, appointments to the Supreme Court of Pakistan were made by the President of Pakistan, on the recommendation of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. This system bred many allegations of favouritism. Many judges who were appointed were relatives of other Judges or Government officials. However, following the Supreme Court's j udgement in the Al-Jehad Trust case, the government's role in j udicial appointments was curtailed. Under the terms of this judgement, the Government and the President's office were bound to act on the recommendations of the Chief Justice of Pakistan. After the 18th Constitutional Amendment in May 2010, a new Judicial Commission and Parliamentary committee were recommended. The Judicial Commission will consist of the Chief Justice of Pakistan, two senior judges of the Supreme Court, the Attorney General of Pakistan, and the Federal Justice Minister of Pakistan. A Parliamentary Committee will oversee the recommendations of the Judicial Commission. At the Commi ssion's first meeting, the Chief Justice and the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Pakistan are to be appointed Chairman and Secretary of the Judicial Commission, respectively HIGH COURTS: There is one High C ourt in each Province, and one in the federal capital,Islamabad, including:
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Transcript of Court System of Pakistan
8/7/2019 Court System of Pakistan
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y Lahore High Court, Lahore, Punjab
y Sindh High Court, Karachi, Sindh
y Peshawar High Court, Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
y Balochistan High Court, Quetta, Baluchistan
y Islamabad High Court, Islamabad, ICT
The High Courts are the appellate courts for all civil and criminal cases in each respective province. The
High Courts' general authority is laid out in the Constitution of Pakistan, 1956, Article 170, which reads:
"Notwithstanding anything contained in Article 22, each High Court shall have power
throughout the territories in relation to which it exercise jurisdiction, to issue to any person or
authority, including in appropriate cases any Government directions, orders or writs, including
writs in the nature of habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, quo warranto and certiorari, for
the enforcement of any of the rights conferred by Part II and for any other purpose.
APPOINTMENTS OF JUDGESAppointments to the High Courts are, as with those to the Supreme Court, made by the President, on
the recommendation of the Chief Justice. Prior to 18th Constitutional Amendment, High Court
appointments suffered much the same criticisms as those to the Supreme Court. Future appointments
will be made in the same manner as those to the Supreme Court.
DISTRICT COURTS OF PAKISTAN
The District Courts of Pakistan are courts that operate at the district level, they are controlled by the
highcourt. District courts exist in every district of each province, with civil and criminal jurisdiction. In
each District Headquarters, there are numerous Additional District & Session Judges who usually preside
the courts. District & sessions Judge has executive and judicial power all over the district under his jurisdiction. Session court is also a trial court for heinous offences such as Murder, Rape (Zina), Haraba
offences (armed robbery where specific amount of gold and cash is involved, it is also appelatte court
for summary conviction offences and civil suits of lesser value. Each Town and city now has a court of
Additional District & Sessions judge, which possesses the equal authority over, under its jurisdiction.
When it is hearing criminal cases it is called sessions court and when it is hearing civil cases it becomes
District court. Executive matters are brought before the relevant District & Sessions Judge.
y The High Court of each province has appellate jurisdiction over the lower courts.
y The Supreme Court has exclusive jurisdiction over disputes between and among provincial
governments, and appellate jurisdiction over High Court decisions
The District Courts of Pakistan are presided over by a Senior judge. They administer justice in Pakistan at
a district level. These courts are under administrative and judicial control of the High Court of the
province to which the district concerned belongs.
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