Two more judges of the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) were sworn in on Monday.

FCC Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan administered the oath to Justice Rozi Khan Barrech and Justice Arshad Hussain Shah at a ceremony held in Islamabad. In their oath, both judges vowed to uphold the Constitution.

“I do solemnly swear, I will bear true faith and allegiance to Pakistan, that as a judge of the FCC of Pakistan, I will discharge my duties and perform my functions honestly to the best of my abilities and faithfully in accordance with the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the law,” the judges said in their oath.

Other members of the FCC, Justices Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Aamer Farooq, Ali Baqar Najafi and KK Agha, were sworn in over the weekend.

A source had previously told Dawn that Justice Shah was appointed after it emerged that Supreme Court’s Justice Musarrat Hilali was not willing to join the FCC.

President Asif Ali Zardari had appointed Justice Aminuddin as the chief justice of the FCC last week, after giving his assent to the 27th Constitutional Amendment.

The initial strength of the FCC was 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 government officials, the FCC’s creation aims to reduce the SC’s workload, ensure timely adjudication of constitutional cases and strengthen judicial independence and credibility.

The FCC formally commenced on Friday after its chief justice and four judges took the oath. The newly formed apex constitutional forum begun work under makeshift arrangements, as its permanent premises have yet to be finalised.

The oath-taking was overshadowed by a boycott from five senior judges Islamabad High Court, as questions were raised over what principle, if any, guided appointments to the FCC.

Critics pointed out that if seniority was the yardstick, none of the appointees — except Justice Aminuddin — were senior to members of the now-defunct Constitutional Bench (CB) of the Supreme Court, several of whom were ignored.

Plea against FCC filed in SHC

Meanwhile, a petition against the formation of the FCC was filed in the Sindh High Court by Barrister Ali Tahir. The Federation of Pakistan through the Ministry of Law and Justice was named as a respondent in the plea.

“All judges (so called) of the FCC (under challenge as unconstitutional in this instant petition)”, including FCC Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan, were also named as respondents.

“The petitioner seeks to challenge attempts to do away with the constitutional jurisdiction of the superior judiciary” through the 27th Amendment, the petition said.

It said that the FCC, “if permitted to proceed, would fundamentally alter the constitutional framework, destroy the independence of the judiciary, violate the doctrine of separation of powers, and extinguish the citizens’ right of access to justice and judicial review guaranteed by the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973”.

“It is obvious that the executive wanted to build a tailor-made court for himself,” the petition said.

The petitioner requested that the 27th Amendment be struck down and set aside in its entirety, and direct that no part, provision, rule or notification made under the amendment shall have no legal effect.

The petitioner also urged the court to issue a writ of quo warranto against the respondents, and demanded that the impugned provisions of the amendment relating to the creation of the FCC or any appointments or tenures that curtailed “ordinary judicial assignment and independence” be declared unconstitutional and void.

The petitioner directed that the plea be placed for hearing before a regular full bench of the SHC constituted of judges that were not appointed or otherwise beneficiaries of the 27th Amendment, and that no bench or tribunal created under this amendment should decide on its constitutionality.