High courts of Pakistan explained

There are five high courts of Pakistan, each based in the capital city of the four provinces, plus one in the federal capital, Islamabad. Articles 192 to 203 of the Constitution of Pakistan outline the constitution of the courts, appointment of the judges, their oath of office, and jurisdiction of the high courts.[1]

History

At the time of partition in August 1947, the Lahore High Court, the Dhaka High Court,[2] the Chief Court of Sind and the Judicial Commissioner's Court in the North-West Frontier Province were deemed to be the four high courts of Pakistan.[3]

In 1955, the Dhaka High Court and the Lahore High Court became the High Court of East Pakistan and the High Court of West Pakistan, respectively.[4] The West Pakistan High Court had benches at Karachi and Peshawar as well as circuit courts at Quetta (replacing the Judicial Commissioner in Balochistan) and Bahawalpur (replacing the High Court of Judicature at Baghdad-ul-Jadid).[5]

As the province of West Pakistan was dissolved in 1970, three high courts were established: Lahore High Court, Peshawar High Court, and Sind and Balochistan High Court (with its principal seat at Karachi).[6]

In 1976 the Sindh and Balochistan High Court was split into the High Court of Sind (Karachi) and the High Court of Balochistan (Quetta).[7]

In 1985 the Lahore High Court had Benches at Bahawalpur, Multan and Rawalpindi; the High Court of Sind at Sukkur; the Peshawar High Court at Abbottabad and Dera Ismail Khan and the High Court of Baluchistan at Sibi.[8]

In 2007, the government proposed a fifth high court to cover the Islamabad Capital Territory.[9] This proposal was blocked by the Lahore High Court, but the decision was overturned by the Supreme Court of Pakistan on 24 December 2007.[10] As a result of the 18th constitutional amendment, the Islamabad High Court was established in 2010. The amendment also established the Mingora Bench of the Peshawar High Court and the Turbat Bench of the High Court of Baluchistan.[11]

List of high courts

High courtProvincePrincipal seatBenchesEstablished
Lahore High CourtPunjabLahoreBahawalpur, Multan, Rawalpindi[12] 1866
Sindh High CourtSindhKarachiSukkur, Hyderabad, Larkana,[13] Mirpurkhas[14] 1866
Peshawar High CourtKhyber PakhtunkhwaPeshawarAbbottabad, Mingora, Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu[15] 1901
Balochistan High CourtBalochistanQuettaSibi, Turbat[16] 1976
Islamabad High CourtCapital TerritoryIslamabad2010

Autonomous territories high courts

High courtTerritoryPrincipal seatBenches
Azad Kashmir High CourtAzad KashmirMuzaffarabadKotli, Mirpur, Rawalakot
Gilgit-Baltistan Chief CourtGilgit-BaltistanGilgitSkardu

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Chapter 3: "The High Courts" of Part VII: "The Judicature" . 2022-07-07 . www.pakistani.org.
  2. Web site: Home : Supreme Court of Bangladesh.
  3. Government of India Act 1935 as adapted by the Pakistan (Provisional Constitution) Order 1947, S. 219
  4. High Court of West Pakistan (Establishment) Order, 1955 (G.G.O. XIX of 1955), Art. 3
  5. as for the High Court of Baghdad-ul-Jadid at Bahawalpur cf. PLD 1953 BJ 59
  6. High Courts (Establishment) Order, 1970 (P.O. No. 8 of 1970), Art. 3(1)
  7. Balochistan and Sind (High Courts) Order, 1976 (P.O. No. 6 of 1976), Art. 3
  8. Revival of Constitution of 1973 Order, 1985 (P.O. No. 14 of 1985), Art. 2, Sch. item 39
  9. Web site: 2007-12-24 . President promulgates Constitution (Second Amendment) Order 2007 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080819192049/http://www.presidentofpakistan.gov.pk/PRPressReleaseDetail.aspx?nPRPressReleaseId=1936&nYear=2007&nMonth=12 . 2008-08-19 . 2007-12-26 . The President of Pakistan.
  10. Web site: 2007-12-24 . SC suspends LHC order against establishment of Islamabad High Court . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304060344/http://app.com.pk/en_/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=24248 . 2016-03-04 . Associated Press of Pakistan.
  11. Web site: Chapter 3: "The High Courts" of Part VII: "The Judicature" . 2022-07-07 . www.pakistani.org.
  12. Web site: Benches Lahore High Court . 2022-07-07 . lhc.gov.pk.
  13. Web site: Welcome to High Court of Sindh . 2022-07-07 . www.sindhhighcourt.gov.pk.
  14. Web site: Reporter . The Newspaper's Staff . 2023-02-03 . Mirpurkhas to have SHC bench . 2023-10-29 . DAWN.COM . en.
  15. Web site: Bacha . Adnan . 2021-07-01 . Virtual court system inaugurated in Peshawar High Court . 2022-07-07 . Daily Times . en-US.
  16. Web site: Khan . Iftikhar A. . 2020-07-21 . Treasury side opposes bill for increasing high court benches . 2022-07-07 . DAWN.COM . en.

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