COURT SYSTEM OF PAKISTAN

STRUCTURE OF COURTS IN PAKISTAN

 Supreme Court of Pakistan (Apex court)
 Federal Shariat Court of Pakistan
 High Courts of Pakistan (one in each province and also in federal capital)
 District Courts of Pakistan (one in each district)
 Judicial Magistrate Courts (with power of Section 30 of Cr.PC only in criminal trials)
 Judicial Magistrate Courts (in every town and city)
 Executive Magistrate Courts (Summary trial court)
 Courts of Civil Judge (judges with power of 1st class and 2nd class cases)

SUPREME COURT OF PAKISTAN :

The Supreme Court (Urdu: ‫عظمی‬ ٰ ‫ )عدالت‬is 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 also 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 judgement in the Al-Jehad
Trust case, the government's role in judicial 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 Commission'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 Court in each Province, and one in the federal capital,Islamabad, including:
  Lahore High Court, Lahore, Punjab
 Sindh High Court, Karachi, Sindh
 Peshawar High Court, Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
 Balochistan High Court, Quetta, Baluchistan
 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 JUDGES
Appointments 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.

 The High Court of each province has appellate jurisdiction over the lower courts.
 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.