Federal Shariat Court
{{Short description|Pakistani constitutional Islamic religious court}}
{{Use Pakistani English|date=November 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox court
| court_name = Federal Shariat Court
| native_name =
| image = Emblem of the Federal Shariat Court of Pakistan.svg
| imagesize = 200px
| caption = Emblem of the Federal Shariat Court
| image2 = File:Pakistan Federal Shariat Court Flag.svg
| imagesize2 = 200px
| caption2 = Flag of the Federal Shariat Court
| established = {{Start date and years ago|1980}}
| dissolved =
| jurisdiction = {{PAK}}
| location = Constitution Avenue, Islamabad
| coordinates =
| motto =
| type =
| authority = Constitution of Pakistan
| appealsto = Supreme Court of Pakistan
| appealsfrom =
| terms = 3 years
| positions = 8
| budget =
| website = {{URL|1=www.federalshariatcourt.gov.pk}}
| chiefjudgetitle = Chief Justice of the Federal Shariat Court
| chiefjudgename = Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rahman
| termstart = 1 June 2023
| termend =
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The Federal Shariat Court (FSC) is a constitutional islamic religious court of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, which has the power to examine and determine whether the laws of the country comply with Sharia law. The court was established in 1980 during the government of the President General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq. It is located in the federal capital, Islamabad.{{cite web |url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/1382202/cjp-nominates-shariat-court-top-judge/ |title=CJP nominates Shariat court top judge |publisher=The Express Tribune (newspaper) |date=13 April 2017 |access-date=15 November 2018}}[https://www.britannica.com/place/Pakistan/Government-and-society#ref990071 Federal Shariat Court of Pakistan on Encyclopedia Britannica], Retrieved 15 November 2018 It hears appeals under the Hudood Ordinances, a religious legislation in the country introduced in 1979.{{Cite web |date=2014-06-26 |title=Three names approved for Federal Shariat Court judges |url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/727428/three-names-approved-for-federal-shariat-court-judges |access-date=2022-04-28 |website=The Express Tribune |language=en}}
The Federal Shariat Court is the only authority which holds the constitutional power to prohibit and prevent the enactment of laws which are deemed to be un-Islamic by the parliament of Pakistan. It is predominantly focused on examining new or existing law of Pakistan. If a law violates the Quran, sunnah or hadith, the Shariat Court will prohibit its enactment.{{cite web | title=First FSC woman judge sworn in | website=The Nation | date=2013-12-31 | url=https://nation.com.pk/31-Dec-2013/first-fsc-woman-judge-sworn-in | access-date=2022-01-28}}
The current chief justice of Federal Shariat Court of Pakistan is Hameedur Rahman.{{cite news |title=Iqbal Hameedur Rehman appointed FSC chief justice |url=https://arynews.tv/iqbal-hameedur-rehman-appointed-fsc-chief-justice/ |work=ARY NEWS |date=30 May 2023}}{{cite news |last1=Sigamony |first1=Terence J. |title=Justice Iqbal takes oath as FSC CJ |url=https://www.brecorder.com/news/40245550/justice-iqbal-takes-oath-as-fsc-cj |work=Brecorder |date=2 June 2023 |language=en}}
Court structure and mandate
{{more citations needed|date=November 2021}}
It consists of eight Muslim judges appointed by the President of Pakistan on the advice of the Chief Justice of the Court, from amongst the serving or retired judges of the Supreme Court or a High Court or from amongst persons possessing the qualifications of High Court judges. Of the 8 judges, 3 are required to be Ulema who are well versed in Islamic law. The judges hold office for a period of 3 years, which may eventually be extended by the President.
Appeal against its decisions lies to the Shariat Appellate Bench of the Supreme Court, consisting of 3 Muslim judges of the Supreme Court and 2 Ulema, appointed by the President. If any part of the law is declared to be against Islamic law, the government must take necessary steps to amend such law appropriately.
The court also exercises revisional jurisdiction over the criminal courts, deciding Hudood cases. The decisions of the court are binding on the High Courts as well as subordinate judiciary. The court appoints its own staff and frames its own rules of procedure.
Court's history of cases
In March 1981, the court ruled in an adultery appeal that stoning people to death was "repugnant to the injunctions of Islam," a decision that upset ruling General Zia ul-Haq, and Islamic revivalists. Zia ul-Haq then replaced several members of the court, and the above-mentioned decision was reversed.{{cite book|last1=Kadri |first1=Sadakat |title=Heaven on Earth: A Journey Through Shari'a Law from the Deserts of Ancient Arabia ..|date=2012|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=9780099523277|page=229|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ztCRZOhJ10wC&q=Heaven+on+Earth%3A+A+Journey+Through+Shari%27a+Law}}
In 1982, the Federal Shariat Court ruled that there is no prohibition in the Qur'an or Hadith about the judgeship of a woman nor any restriction limiting the function of deciding disputes to men only.[http://federalshariatcourt.gov.pk/Leading%20Judgements/Sh.Pet.No.K-4%20of%201992.pdf Ansar Burney v. Federation of Pakistan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150701092030/http://federalshariatcourt.gov.pk/Leading%20Judgements/Sh.Pet.No.K-4%20of%201992.pdf |date=1 July 2015 }}, PLD 1983 FSC 73–93; reaffirmed in [http://www.federalshariatcourt.gov.pk/HCJ_Judgements/Sh.Pt.No.1-L%20of%202010.pdf Mian Hammad Murtaza v. Federation of Pakistan], PLD 2011 FSC 117 In 2013 Ashraf Jehan became the first female justice of the Federal Shariat Court.{{cite web|title=Pakistan Shariat court gets first woman judge|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/pakistan-shariat-court-gets-first-woman-judge/article1-1167987.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231214538/http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/pakistan-shariat-court-gets-first-woman-judge/article1-1167987.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-date=31 December 2013|publisher=hindustantimes.com website|date=31 December 2013|access-date=15 November 2018}}
In 2016, Provincial Assembly of the Punjab passed a legislature, the Punjab Protection of Women against Violence Act 2016. Soon after its passing, it was challenged in Federal Shariat Court.{{Cite web |last=Iqbal |first=Nasir |date=2016-03-04 |title=Women's protection act challenged in Federal Shariat Court |url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1243466 |access-date=2022-04-28 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en}}
In February 2017, the court issued its ruling on test-tube babies and validated its use conditionally. The Nation reported, "The Federal Shariat Court yesterday declared the option of using 'test tube baby' method for conceiving babies for the married couples having some medical complications as lawful."{{Cite web |date=2017-02-23 |title=Federal Shariat Court validates test-tube babies conditionally |url=http://nation.com.pk/national/22-Feb-2017/federal-shariat-court-validates-test-tube-babies-conditionally |access-date=2022-04-28 |website= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223084019/http://nation.com.pk/national/22-Feb-2017/federal-shariat-court-validates-test-tube-babies-conditionally |archive-date=23 February 2017 |url-status=dead}}{{Cite web |date=2017-02-21 |title=Federal Shariat Court declares test tube babies legal |url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/1334709/federal-shariat-court-declares-test-tube-babies-legal |access-date=2022-04-28 |website=The Express Tribune |language=en}}
The fact that lawyers make up a permanent majority of judges of the court, outnumbering Islamic ulama, has been credited with the court finding "technical flaws in every stoning and amputation appeal that it has ever heard", preventing the carrying out of sentences amputating limbs and killing by stoning.
File:Emblem of the Federal Shariat Court of Pakistan.svg|Coat of arms of the Federal Shariat Court
File:Pakistan Federal Shariat Court Flag.svg|Flag of the Federal Shariat Court
Chief Justice and judges
| class="wikitable"
!Sr. No !! Name !! Designation !! Date of appointment | |||
| 1
|Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rahman |Chief Justice |1 June 2023 [https://molaw.gov.pk/NewsDetail/ODMwZDJmNzItZTZiNi00NmU4LTljNGQtZmZkZjE1ZTg3ZTIz] [https://www.federalshariatcourt.gov.pk/en/honble-chief-justice/] | |||
| 2 | Justice Dr. Syed Muhammad Anwer{{Cite web |title=Sitting Judges – Federal Shariat Court of Pakistan |date=25 November 2017 |url=https://www.federalshariatcourt.gov.pk/en/sitting-judges/ |access-date=2022-04-28 |language=en-US}} | Aalim Judge
|16 May 2022 | |
| 3 | Justice Khadim Hussain M. Shaikh | Judge
|27 March 2021 | |
| 4 | Justice Ameer Muhammad Khan | Judge
|26 March 2024 | |
| 5 | Vacant | ||
| 6 | Vacant | ||
| 7 | Vacant | ||
| 8 | Vacant |
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|http://www.federalshariatcourt.gov.pk}}
- [http://worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n90653977/ Pakistan Federal Shariat Court on worldcat.org website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221118082503/http://worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n90653977/ |date=18 November 2022 }}
=Further reading=
- [https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/90659-An-act-of-appeasement Salman Akram Raja, An act of appeasement?], The News International January 16, 2016
{{Judiciary of Pakistan|state=expanded}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Federal Shariat Court}}
Category:1980 establishments in Pakistan
Category:Constitutional courts
Category:Courts and tribunals established in 1980