Chief Justice of Pakistan

Chief Justice of Pakistan
منصفِ اعظم پاکستان
Munsif-e-Āzam Pākistān
قاضیُ الْقُضاۃ
Emblem of the SCP
Incumbent
Yahya Afridi
since 26 October 2024
Supreme Court of Pakistan
StyleThe Honorable
(formal)
Your Lordship
(within court)
Mr. Chief Justice
(informal)
StatusChief justice
SeatSupreme Court Building, Red Zone, Islamabad
NominatorPrime Minister of Pakistan on recommendations of Special Parliamentary Committee.
AppointerPresident of Pakistan
Term length3 Years or (until the age of 65) whichever is earlier
Constituting instrumentConstitution of Pakistan
Formation27 June 1949 (75 years ago) (1949-06-27)
First holderAbdul Rashid
(as Federal Chief Justice)
Websitewww.supremecourt.gov.pk
Supreme Court of Pakistan

The chief justice of Pakistan (initials as CJP; Urdu: منصفِ اعظم پاکستان, Munsif-e-Āzam Pākistān) is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and is the highest-ranking officer of the Pakistani judiciary.[1]

The Federal Court of Pakistan was established by Governor-General Jinnah's Order in February 1948. Until 1956, the chief justice and senior justices were known by the title of 'Federal Judge', and the Federal Court of Pakistan operated out of a wing of the Lahore High Court, despite the federal capital's location in Karachi. The enactment of Pakistan's first constitution in March 1956 redesigned it as the 'Supreme Court of Pakistan.' [2]

The chief justice is the chief administrative officer of the country's court system and the highest judicial officer, ranking immediately above the chief justice of the Federal Shariat Court. He is responsible for supervising federal judicial policies, and conducting judicial business in the Supreme Court.[3][4]

Nomination for the appointment of the chief justice is made by the prime minister of Pakistan, and final appointments are confirmed by the president of Pakistan.[5][6] Chief Justice of Pakistan is recommended by Special Parliamentary Committee consisting of 8 members of National Assembly and 4 members of Senate.He is selected by amongst 3 senior most justices of Supreme Court by two third majiority of total membership of Committee. Committee sends nomination of selected justice to Prime Minister and Prime Minister advises President of Pakistan to appoint that justice as Chief Justice of Supreme Court of Pakistan.

Before 26th Amendment to the Constitution 2024. Senior most judge of Supreme Court was appointed as Chief Justice by President on advice of Prime Minister.

Presiding over the oral arguments before the court, the chief justice has significant agenda-setting power over meetings of the Supreme Court. In modern tradition[clarification needed], the chief justice has the ceremonial duty of administering the oath of office of the president of Pakistan.[7]

The first chief justice was Sir Abdul Rashid.[8][9] The current chief justice is Yahya Afridi, incumbent since 26 October 2024.

List of chief justices

Pakistan's longest-serving chief justice was Mohammad Haleem for total of 3,205 days. The shortest-serving chief justice was Muhammad Shahabuddin. Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry is the only justice to have served non-consecutive terms, for a total of three terms with total of 2,480 days.

Number Name Period of office Length of term (years, days) Bar Appointed by
1 Sir Mian Abdul Rashid 27 June 1949 29 June 1954 5 years, 0 days Lahore High Court Government of India Act 1935
2 Muhammad Munir 29 June 1954 2 May 1960 5 years, 308 days Lahore High Court Malik Ghulam Muhammad
3 Muhammad Shahabuddin† 3 May 1960 12 May 1960 9 days Madras High Court Ayub Khan
4 A.R. Cornelius 13 May 1960 29 February 1968 7 years, 292 days Lahore High Court
5 S.A. Rahman 1 March 1968 3 June 1968 94 days Lahore High Court
6 Fazal Akbar 4 June 1968 17 November 1968 166 days East Pakistan High Court
7 Hamoodur Rahman† 18 November 1968 31 October 1975 6 years, 347 days Calcutta High Court
8 Yaqub Ali 1 November 1975 22 September 1977 1 year, 325 days Lahore High Court Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry
9 Sheikh Anwarul Haq 23 September 1977 25 March 1981 3 years, 183 days Lahore High Court
10 Mohammad Haleem 23 March 1981 31 December 1989 8 years, 283 days Sindh High Court Zia-ul-Haq
11 Afzal Zullah 1 January 1990 18 April 1993 3 years, 107 days Lahore High Court Ghulam Ishaq Khan
12 Nasim Hasan Shah 17 April 1993 14 April 1994 362 days Lahore High Court
13 Syed Sajjad Ali Shah 5 June 1994 2 December 1997 3 years, 180 days Sindh High Court Farooq Leghari
14 Ajmal Mian 27 December 1997 30 June 1999 1 year, 185 days Sindh High Court Wasim Sajjad
15 Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui 1 July 1999 26 January 2000 209 days Sindh High Court Rafiq Tarar
16 Irshad Hasan Khan 26 January 2000 6 January 2002 1 year, 345 days Lahore High Court
17 Bashir Jehangiri 7 January 2002 31 January 2002 24 days Peshawar High Court Pervez Musharraf
18 Sheikh Riaz Ahmad 1 February 2002 31 December 2003 1 year, 333 days Lahore High Court
19 Nazim Hussain Siddiqui 31 December 2003 29 June 2005 1 year, 180 days Sindh High Court
20 Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry (1st) 29 June 2005 9 March 2007 1 year, 253 days Balochistan High Court
A Javaid Iqbal 9 March 2007 24 March 2007 15 days Balochistan High Court
A Rana Bhagwandas 25 March 2007 20 July 2007 87 days Sindh High Court
20 Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry (2nd) 20 July 2007 3 November 2007 136 days Balochistan High Court
± A. H. Dogar 3 November 2007 21 March 2009 1 year, 138 days Sindh High Court
20 Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry (3rd) 21 March 2009 11 December 2013 4 years, 265 days Balochistan High Court Asif Ali Zardari
21 Tassaduq Hussain Jillani 12 December 2013 6 July 2014 176 days Lahore High Court Mamnoon Hussain
22 Nasir-ul-Mulk 7 July 2014 16 August 2015 1 year, 70 days Peshawar High Court
23 Jawwad S. Khawaja 17 August 2015 9 September 2015 23 days Lahore High Court
24 Anwar Zaheer Jamali 10 September 2015 30 December 2016 1 year, 111 days Sindh High Court
25 Mian Saqib Nisar 31 December 2016 17 January 2019 2 years, 17 days Lahore High Court
26 Asif Saeed Khan Khosa 18 January 2019 20 December 2019 336 days Lahore High Court Arif Alvi[10][11][12][13][14]
27 Gulzar Ahmed 21 December 2019 1 February 2022 2 years, 42 days Sindh High Court
28 Umar Ata Bandial 2 February 2022 16 September 2023 1 year, 226 days Lahore High Court
29 Qazi Faez Isa 17 September 2023

25 October 2024

1 year, 38 days Balochistan High Court
30 Yahya Afridi 26 October 2024 Incumbent 3 years, 0 days Peshawar High Court Asif Ali Zardari
  • A Acting
  • ± Recess appointment, later rejected by the Supreme Judicial Council. All decisions voided due to illegality of appointment.
  • † Died in office

Timeline

Yahya AfridiQazi Faez IsaUmar Ata BandialGulzar AhmedAsif Saeed KhosaMian Saqib NisarAnwar Zaheer JamaliJawwad S. KhawajaNasir-ul-MulkTassadduq Hussain JillaniIftikhar Muhammad ChaudhryAbdul Hameed DogarIftikhar Muhammad ChaudhryRana BhagwandasJaved Iqbal (judge, born 1946)Iftikhar Muhammad ChaudhryNazim Hussain SiddiquiSheikh Riaz AhmadBashir JehangiriIrshad Hasan KhanSaeeduzzaman SiddiquiAjmal MianSajjad Ali ShahSaad Saud JanNasim Hasan ShahMuhammad Afzal ZullahMohammad HaleemS. Anwarul HaqMuhammad Yaqub AliHamoodur RahmanFazal AkbarS. A. RahmanA. R. CorneliusMuhammad ShahabuddinMuhammad MunirAbdul Rashid (judge)

See also

References

  1. ^ Pakistan Business Law Handbook Strategic Information and Laws. Intl Business Pubns USA. 2012. ISBN 978-1438770710. Retrieved 19 April 2015.[permanent dead link‍]
  2. ^ Shah, Ralph Braibanti (1999). Chief Justice Cornelius of Pakistan : an analysis with letters and speeches. Foreword by Nasim Hasan (2. impr. ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195790184.
  3. ^ Article 176 in The Judicature Chapter 2 of Part VII of the Constitution of Pakistan
  4. ^ Article 175A in Chapter 1: The Courts. Part VII: The Judicature of the Constitution of Pakistan
  5. ^ Article 175A(12)-175A(13) Chapter 1: The Courts. Part VII: The Judicature of the Constitution of Pakistan
  6. ^ "Judges Appointment & Court Composition". Islamabad, Pakistan: Supreme Court of Pakistan Press. Archived from the original (google cache (html)) on 24 March 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  7. ^ Article 178 in the Chapter 2: The Supreme Court of Pakistan of Part VII: The Judicature of Constitution of Pakistan
  8. ^ Masood, Ahsan. "Names of the Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of Pakistan". Masood and Masood Press. Archived from the original on 17 December 2014. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  9. ^ "The Judicial System of Pakistan" (PDF). Supreme Court of Pakistan. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 February 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  10. ^ "Justice Asif Saeed Khosa appointed new Chief Justice of Pakistan". The News. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  11. ^ Reporter, The Newspaper's Staff (3 January 2019). "Alvi approves Justice Khosa's appointment as next CJP". Dawn. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  12. ^ Tribune.com.pk (4 December 2019). "Justice Gulzar to be sworn in as 27th chief justice of Pakistan on Dec 21". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  13. ^ "President approves appointment of Justice Umar Ata Bandial as CJP". ARY NEWS. 13 January 2022. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  14. ^ Guramani, Nadir (21 June 2023). "President approves Justice Qazi Faez Isa's appointment as next chief justice". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 15 September 2023.