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Name : Zulqarnain
Course: Teen Mentorship Batch 2
Date 25/04/2026
Pakistan’s Constitutional System: Structure, Crisis, and the Battle for Justice
Introduction
Pakistan’s legal and constitutional order, built on the foundation of the Constitution of 1973,has long been regarded as one of the most amended and contested constitutions in the world. From its multi-tiered court system to its delicate civil-military balance, the Pakistani constitutional framework is today under severe stress — grappling with a historic backlog of cases, aggressive executive interference, and landmark amendments that critics argue have fundamentally altered the architecture of justice.
The Constitutional Framework
Pakistan operates under the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973— a federal, parliamentary document that establishes a multi-tiered judicial system:
- The Supreme Court — the apex court with original, appellate, and advisory jurisdiction
- High Courts — one in each province plus the Islamabad High Court (IHC)
- The Federal Shariat Court — overseeing Islamic law compliance
- District & Sessions Courts — the frontline of justice delivery for millions of citizens
Key constitutional provisions governing rights and justice include Article 10-A (right to fair trial), Article 37(d) (the state’s obligation to ensure inexpensive and expeditious), and Article 184(3) (the Supreme Court’s suo motu powers in matters of public importance). Despite these guarantees on paper, their practical enforcement has remained deeply problematic.
The Crisis of Pending Cases
Pakistan’s judicial system is today synonymous with one word: backlog.
More than two million cases are pending across Pakistan’s subordinate courts, with approximately 300,000 pending in the high courts and nearly 56,000 in the Supreme Court alone. [Howtests](https://howtests.com/articles/justice-delayed-democracy-denied-pakistans-legal-backlog-crisis)
The district judiciary alone carries nearly 1.86 million pending cases, with civil cases making up 64% of this backlog. [ISSRA Insights](https://issra.pk/insight/2025/the-endless-wait-crisis-of-backlog-in-pakistans-district-judiciary/insight.php) The human cost of this is staggering — a party to a civil suit must typically make around 72 visits to court before getting a case decided, burdening litigants both financially and psychologically. [ResearchGate](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/396608135_CRISIS_OF_CIVIL_JUSTICE_DELAYS_IN_PAKISTAN_CHALLENGES_AND_INNOVATIONS)
A recent Supreme Court judgment highlighted a property auction dispute that spent 14 years in limbo before being heard in 2025 — emblematic of a system that has left millions of citizens stranded in legal uncertainty. [The News](https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1368943-litigants-in-limbo)
The backlog at the Supreme Court has grown dramatically — at the end of 2023 the apex court had 55,971 cases pending, a significant rise from just over 20,000 cases a decade ago. [Howtests](https://howtests.com/articles/justice-delayed-democracy-denied-pakistans-legal-backlog-crisis)
Pakistan ranks 129th out of 142 countries in the World Justice Project Rule of Law Index, and 111th specifically on the metric of unreasonable delays. [Howtests](https://howtests.com/articles/justice-delayed-democracy-denied-pakistans-legal-backlog-crisis)
Economic Toll
The judicial crisis bleeds directly into the economy. Over Rs 3 trillion in tax cases and Rs 1.1 trillion in non-performing loans are currently tied up in litigation, hindering corporate planning and discouraging both domestic and foreign investment. [Howtests](https://howtests.com/articles/justice-delayed-democracy-denied-pakistans-legal-backlog-crisis)
Root Causes of Systemic Failure
1. Colonial-Era Laws Left Unamended
Pakistan’s judicial system remains largely governed by colonial-era statutes such as the Code of Civil Procedure 1908 and the Criminal Procedure Code of 1898, which have not been sufficiently updated to address the complexities of modern society. [Howtests](https://howtests.com/articles/justice-delayed-democracy-denied-pakistans-legal-backlog-crisis)
2. Judicial Vacancies and Frequent Transfers
Frequent transfers of judges hinder the administration of justice. When judges who have heard evidence are transferred, newly appointed judges must restart proceedings entirely, causing severe delays. In 2025 alone, the Lahore High Court transferred 53 additional district and sessions judges, while the Sindh High Court transferred 64 civil judges in 2024. [ISSRA Insights](https://issra.pk/insight/2025/the-endless-wait-crisis-of-backlog-in-pakistans-district-judiciary/insight.php)
3. Corruption
According to Transparency International, the judiciary and police rank among the most corrupt institutions in Pakistan. A survey revealed that one-third of all reported bribes involved court staff, while 12 percent were linked to judges. [Howtests](https://howtests.com/articles/justice-delayed-democracy-denied-pakistans-legal-backlog-crisis)
4. Unenforced Reform Recommendations
The Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan regularly issues reform recommendations, but these are advisory only. By 2017, at least 74 out of 138 recommendations remained unimplemented, and no comprehensive audit of its reports has ever been carried out. [ISSRA Insights](https://issra.pk/insight/2025/the-endless-wait-crisis-of-backlog-in-pakistans-district-judiciary/insight.php)
5. Weak Judgment Enforcement
Over the past two years, Supreme Court judgments have often gone unenforced, and citizens have been deprived of their liberty without due process — exposing not just judicial inefficiency but deeper failures of governance. [The Express Tribune](https://tribune.com.pk/story/2535074/judicial-reforms-and-cjp)
The 26th and 27th Constitutional Amendments: A Turning Point
The most seismic changes to Pakistan’s constitutional order in recent memory came through back-to-back amendments that fundamentally reshaped the judiciary’s independence.
The 26th Amendment (2024)
The 26th Constitutional Amendment initiated what many legal observers describe as a systematic dismantling of judicial independence, paving the way for executive interference in judicial appointments and bench composition. [JURIST](https://www.jurist.org/news/2025/09/pakistan-dispatch-high-court-judges-petition-supreme-court-challenge-chief-justices-authority/)
The 27th Amendment (November 2025)
In November 2025, Pakistan adopted its 27th Constitutional Amendment through one of the fastest and most contentious processes in its recent history. By creating a Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), expanding executive control over judicial appointments, granting lifelong immunity to the President and military leadership, and strengthening the army’s institutional influence, the amendment represents the most significant restructuring of Pakistan’s judicial and executive powers under the 1973 Constitution. [ConstitutionNet](https://constitutionnet.org/news/voices/shifting-scales-how-pakistans-27th-amendment-undermines-judicial-independence)
As a result of the FCC’s creation, the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction is now effectively confined to non-constitutional, appellate matters. Any cases or petitions pending before any other court that fall under the FCC’s jurisdiction stand transferred to the FCC. [ConstitutionNet](https://constitutionnet.org/news/voices/shifting-scales-how-pakistans-27th-amendment-undermines-judicial-independence)
While proponents argue the FCC will ease backlog, critics contend that the bulk of the judicial backlog lies in the lower courts, where delays and resource limitations have resulted in an estimated 2.3 million cases pending — making the FCC an answer to the wrong problem. [ConstitutionNet](https://constitutionnet.org/news/voices/shifting-scales-how-pakistans-27th-amendment-undermines-judicial-independence)
Military Power Constitutionalized
Under the new Article 243(7), all military officers elevated to five-star rank will enjoy lifetime rank, uniform, and privileges. The new Article 243(9) grants the President, Field Marshal, Fleet Admiral, and Air Force Marshal lifetime immunity from arrest and criminal and civil proceedings. The revised Article 243 also creates a new apex military post — the Chief of Defence Forces — automatically held by the sitting Army Chief. [ConstitutionNet](https://constitutionnet.org/news/voices/shifting-scales-how-pakistans-27th-amendment-undermines-judicial-independence)
Pending Legal Challenges
The constitutional changes have triggered a wave of legal resistance:
Judges of the Islamabad High Court filed a petition challenging the transfer of their cases to the newly created FCC, arguing the 27th Amendment itself is inconsistent with the Constitution. Court officials, however, refused to accept the petition, maintaining that the FCC is now the proper forum for such matters. [ConstitutionNet](https://constitutionnet.org/news/voices/shifting-scales-how-pakistans-27th-amendment-undermines-judicial-independence)
Five IHC judges jointly petitioned the Supreme Court, invoking Articles 184(3), 192, 202, and 203, arguing that the Chief Justice’s use of administrative powers — forming benches, transferring cases, and setting rosters — exceeded constitutional limits and amounted to a systematic dismantling of the IHC’s judicial independence. [JURIST](https://www.jurist.org/news/2025/09/pakistan-dispatch-high-court-judges-petition-supreme-court-challenge-chief-justices-authority/)
In October 2023, the Supreme Court had ruled that the military trial of civilians was unconstitutional. But in May 2025, a newly formed constitutional bench overruled that decision with a five-two majority, re-entrenching the practice of trying civilians in military courts. [ORF Online](https://www.orfonline.org/research/-hybrid-militarised-legalism-and-judicial-hollowing-out-in-pakistan)
Efforts at Reform
Despite the gloom, there are nascent efforts toward modernization. Chief Justice Yahya Afridi has committed to judicial reform, integrating advanced information technology including an e-Affidavit system and a Case Management System that allows litigants and lawyers to access certified copies instantly. [The Express Tribune](https://tribune.com.pk/story/2535074/judicial-reforms-and-cjp)
Pakistan has also experimented with ‘Judge-GPT’ to assist district judges with legal research and drafting, and legal scholars argue that if deployed responsibly, AI could ease the backlog and restore some measure of efficiency. [The News](https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1368943-litigants-in-limbo)
However, despite previous Chief Justices expressing similar commitments — including utilising technology to link branch registries with the Principal Seat for real-time hearings — the situation has remained largely unchanged. [The Express Tribune](https://tribune.com.pk/story/2535074/judicial-reforms-and-cjp)
Conclusion
Pakistan’s constitutional system stands at a crossroads. On one side lies the promise of the 1973 Constitution — a document guaranteeing fundamental rights, separation of powers, and access to justice. On the other lies the lived reality: millions of cases gathering dust, amendments that tilt power toward the executive and military, and a judiciary struggling to assert its independence under enormous institutional pressure.
True constitutional health cannot be restored by creating new courts alone. It requires filling judicial vacancies, insulating judges from political and military pressure, modernizing archaic laws, enforcing court orders, and — above all — restoring the public’s trust that justice is not a privilege but a right. Until then, for most Pakistanis, justice will remain not just delayed, but denied.
Here are the source links used in the article:
1. ConstitutionNet — 27th Amendment & Judicial Independence
https://constitutionnet.org/news/voices/shifting-scales-how-pakistans-27th-amendment-undermines-judicial-independence
2. ISSRA — The Endless Wait: Crisis of Backlog in Pakistan’s District Judiciary
https://issra.pk/insight/2025/the-endless-wait-crisis-of-backlog-in-pakistans-district-judiciary/insight.php
3. The Express Tribune — Judicial Reforms and CJP
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2535074/judicial-reforms-and-cjp
4. The News International — Litigants in Limbo (Editorial)
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1368943-litigants-in-limbo
5. HowTests — Justice Delayed, Democracy Denied: Pakistan’s Legal Backlog Crisis
https://howtests.com/articles/justice-delayed-democracy-denied-pakistans-legal-backlog-crisis
6. ORF Online — Hybrid Militarised Legalism and Judicial Hollowing Out in Pakistan
https://www.orfonline.org/research/-hybrid-militarised-legalism-and-judicial-hollowing-out-in-pakistan
7. JURIST — High Court Judges Petition Supreme Court, Challenge Chief Justice’s Authority
https://www.jurist.org/news/2025/09/pakistan-dispatch-high-court-judges-petition-supreme-court-challenge-chief-justices-authority/
8. ResearchGate — Crisis of Civil Justice Delays in Pakistan: Challenges and Innovations
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/396608135_CRISIS_OF_CIVIL_JUSTICE_DELAYS_IN_PAKISTAN_CHALLENGES_AND_INNOVATIONS
9. Advance LRF / Journal of Law & Social Studies — Comparative Study (Pakistan vs UK Judiciary)
https://www.advancelrf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Vol-7-No.-1-4.pdf
10. WebIndia123 / Dawn — Supreme Court Admits Massive Backlog
https://news.webindia123.com/news/Articles/World/20250816/4350503.html
