High courts of Pakistan

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]

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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 court Province Principal seat Benches[1] Established
Lahore High Court Punjab Lahore Bahawalpur, Multan, Rawalpindi[12] 1866
Sindh High Court Sindh Karachi Sukkur, Hyderabad, Larkana[13] 1866
Peshawar High Court Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Peshawar Abbottabad, Mingora, Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu[14] 1901
Balochistan High Court Balochistan Quetta Sibi, Turbat[15] 1976
Islamabad High Court Capital Territory Islamabad 2010

Autonomous territories high courts
High court Territory Principal seat Benches
Azad Kashmir High Court Azad Kashmir Muzaffarabad Kotli, Mirpur, Rawalakot
Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Court Gilgit-Baltistan Gilgit Skardu

See also

References
  1. "Chapter 3: "The High Courts" of Part VII: "The Judicature"". www.pakistani.org. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  2. "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. "President promulgates Constitution (Second Amendment) Order 2007". The President of Pakistan. 2007-12-24. Archived from the original on 2008-08-19. Retrieved 2007-12-26.
  10. "SC suspends LHC order against establishment of Islamabad High Court". Associated Press of Pakistan. 2007-12-24. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04.
  11. "Chapter 3: "The High Courts" of Part VII: "The Judicature"". www.pakistani.org. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  12. "Benches | Lahore High Court". lhc.gov.pk. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  13. "Welcome to High Court of Sindh". www.sindhhighcourt.gov.pk. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  14. Bacha, Adnan (2021-07-01). "Virtual court system inaugurated in Peshawar High Court". Daily Times. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  15. Khan, Iftikhar A. (2020-07-21). "Treasury side opposes bill for increasing high court benches". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
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