The Supreme Court and the Federal Court of Canada operate as parallel judicial entities, rather than in a subservient capacity, according to the Chief Justice of Pakistan.

The Supreme Court of Pakistan has determined that the Supreme Court and the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) function as “coordinate courts” with separate constitutional authorities, and neither is subordinate to the other.

A two-member bench, consisting of Chief Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan, addressed several petitions and elucidated the judicial framework following the 27th Constitutional Amendment, affirming that both supreme courts function autonomously within their specified constitutional jurisdictions.

The Federal Constitutional Court was instituted by the 27th Constitutional Amendment in November of the previous year, guaranteeing equitable representation from all provinces. The ruling stemmed from a Peshawar High Court order that amalgamated writ and normal civil processes, then presented to the Supreme Court.

The supreme court mandated that such issues be segregated and sent to their appropriate forums within the new constitutional framework.

The ruling stipulates that writ petitions under Article 199 are now solely within the jurisdiction of the FCC, although ordinary civil and appellate cases would remain under the purview of the Supreme Court as per Article 185. Issues concerning rental agreements and familial conflicts were identified as exceptions.

The court clarified that Article 175F, enacted by the 27th Constitutional Amendment, created a separate appellate system, assigning all appeals from Article 199 rulings to the FCC, with some exceptions.