ISLAMABAD: Justice Aminuddin Khan was on Thursday appointed the inaugural chief justice of the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), according to a notification from the law ministry.

The appointment was made by President Asif Ali Zardari under Clause 3 of Article 175A, read with Article 175C, of the Constitution, adding that it would come into effect from the date of Justice Aminuddin’s oath-taking.

Justice Aminuddin is set to take the oath at the Presidency at 10am on Friday (today). The chief justices and judges of superior courts and high-ranking officials have been invited to participate in the oath-taking ceremony.

Sources said that following the ceremony, Justice Aminuddin will proceed to the Islamabad High Court (IHC), where arrangements have been made for the oath-taking of six other FCC judges, including Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Musarrat Hilali, Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Ali Baqar Najafi of the Supreme Court, Justice K.K. Agha of the Sindh High Court and Balochistan High Court Chief Justice Rozi Khan Barrech.

Set to take oath today along with six other judges of new constitutional court

The initial strength of the FCC has been determined through a presidential order, while any fu­­ture increase in the number of judges will require parliamentary approval through an act of parliament. According to the sources, the oath-taking ceremony for the FCC judges will be held in the IHC auditorium, as judges of the Federal Shariat Court (FSC) have resisted an immediate relocation to the third floor of the IHC building.

Initially, the oath-taking of Justice Aminud­din Khan was scheduled for Thursday at 10am. However, following a minor revision to the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill, the legislation had to be returned to the Senate for approval. After the Senate cleared the bill on Thursday, the ceremony was first rescheduled for 6pm and later moved again to 10am on Friday.

Interestingly, the ceremony is not being held in the Federal Shariat Court as originally planned. The FCC was intended to be established in the FSC building in Islamabad, while the Shariat Court was to be shifted to the IHC premises.

However, sources within the FSC revealed that its judges expressed dissatisfaction over their abrupt relocation and raised the matter with the Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi.

The proposal to establish the Federal Constitutional Court has been revived as part of the judicial reforms incorporated in the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill. The amendment seeks to rationalise the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and enhance efficiency in the adjudication of constitutional questions.

According to government officials, the FCC’s creation aims to reduce the Supreme Court’s workload, ensure timely adjudication of constitutional cases and strengthen judicial independence and credibility.

The concept of a separate constitutional court is not new. It was first introduced in the 2006 Charter of Democracy, signed between the PPP and PML-N. The charter envisaged a specialised court dedicated to constitutional matters, enabling the Supreme Court to focus primarily on its appellate jurisdiction. The idea resurfaced during discussions on the 26th Amendment but was shelved following resis­tance from the JUI-F and other political factions. Under the 27th Amendment, FCC judges will retire at the age of 68, which is three years beyond the retirement age for Supreme Court judges, who retire at 65.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2025