Rights
1973 Constitution with an Islamic repugnancy check on legislation
The 1973 Constitution creates a federal parliamentary republic. The Federal Shariat Court may strike down laws repugnant to Islam, and the Supreme Court exercises broad original jurisdiction under Article 184(3).
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Federal: four provinces plus Islamabad Capital Territory. Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir have separate constitutional arrangements and are not ordinary provinces.
Governing law
- Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan1973
- Eighteenth Amendment2010
- Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act, 2023
In practice
The Eighteenth Amendment devolved substantial subjects — including labour, health and education — to the provinces, so a great deal of operative law is provincial rather than federal, and assuming a single national rule is a common error. Article 184(3) suo motu jurisdiction has been used expansively and was curtailed by the 2023 Practice and Procedure Act. Article 8 voids laws inconsistent with fundamental rights, and Article 199 gives High Courts writ jurisdiction.