Islamabad, 14 November (H.S.): Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan of the Supreme Court is set to be sworn in as the first Chief Justice of the newly established Federal Constitutional Court of Pakistan on Friday. The oath-taking ceremony will be held at the President's House at 10:00 AM. President Asif Ali Zardari appointed Justice Khan to the new role.

According to a notification from the Ministry of Law and Justice, the appointment was made in the exercise of powers conferred by clause (3) of Article 175-A and Article 175-C of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

As reported by The Express Tribune, the notification states that Justice Khan's appointment will be effective from the date he takes the oath of office.This development follows the recent passage of the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill, which was approved by a two-thirds majority in both houses of Parliament.

The new legislation establishes a Federal Constitutional Court with equal provincial representation, granting the President and Prime Minister significant roles in judicial appointments. Consequently, some powers of the Supreme Court will now be transferred to this new constitutional body.

The Judicial Commission of Pakistan will now oversee the transfer of High Court judges, with any objections to such transfers being reviewed by the Supreme Judicial Council. The eligibility requirement for High Court judges to be appointed to the Constitutional Court has been reduced from seven to five years.

According to the newspaper Dawn, Chief Justices of the High Courts, judges, and high-ranking officials have been invited to attend the swearing-in ceremony. Justice Khan, born in Multan in 1960, completed his LLB from University Law College, Multan, in 1984. He became an advocate of the Lahore High Court in 1987 and of the Supreme Court in 2001.

He was elevated to the position of a Supreme Court judge in 2019 and was made head of the Supreme Court's constitutional bench in November 2024.The appointment comes amid controversy, as Supreme Court Justices Mansoor Ali Shah and Athar Minallah resigned from their positions in protest just hours after President Zardari signed the 27th Constitutional Amendment into law.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar