Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) has declared that the Supreme Court and the Federal Constitutional Court are not subordinate to each other, both are co-operative courts, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Wednesday.
The Supreme Court has issued an important detailed decision regarding its jurisdiction and that of the Federal Constitutional Court after the 27th Constitutional Amendment.
A two-member bench headed by Chief Justice Yahya Afridi gave the decision on the petitions filed against the decision of the Peshawar High Court. According to decision, the decisions of the Federal Constitutional Court will be binding on other courts regarding legal principles.
Article 189 does not make one court subordinate to another. Trying constitutional and non-constitutional cases together can create constitutional complications. Clubbed constitutional and regular cases should be sent to separate forums. Constitutional cases will be heard by the Federal Constitutional Court, while regular cases will be heard by the Supreme Court.
The principle of judicial deference will be adopted to avoid conflicting decisions.
Both courts will make decisions respecting each other's jurisdiction. Appeals of constitutional petitions filed under Article 199, Federal Constitutional Court will hear. The authority of general civil and regular appeals will continue to be with the Supreme Court. After the 27th Constitutional Amendment, the Federal Constitutional Court has exclusive constitutional jurisdiction. Appeals against the constitutional decisions of the High Court will be considered transferred to the Federal Constitutional Court.
Tenancy and some family matters will be exempted from the jurisdiction of the Federal Constitutional Court. The Supreme Court has ordered the separation of cases, related to the joint decision of the Peshawar High Court.
Reporter: Amanat Gishkori