Constitution must remain supreme while exercising powers: FCC CJ

Federal Constitutional Court of Pakistan (FCCP) Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan has stressed that the supremacy of Constitution must be given the highest priority while exercising powers, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

Addressing the opening of the 2026-27 judicial year at the Federal Constitutional Court in Islamabad on Tuesday, the chief justice said the start of a new judicial year was an opportunity to renew the commitment to delivering justice.

He said the Federal Constitutional Court was effectively fulfilling its responsibilities in dealing with constitutional matters. He emphasized that the Constitution must remain paramount whenever powers are exercised.

The CJ said adherence to the Constitution was essential for ensuring stability in society, adding that the Constitution clearly defines powers and their limits. He highlighted the importance of using modern technology in judicial affairs. He said the Federal Constitutional Court had delivered decisions in several important cases within a short period.

Justice Amin said the use of technology can help improve institutional capacity and transparency. He further said access to justice was a fundamental right of every citizen and that providing constitutional justice without discrimination should remain a core priority.

He went on to say that every institution created under the Constitution derived its authority from it and remained subject to its limits. “Therefore, the fundamental philosophy that must guide the court is simple yet profound.”

Justice Amin noted that as the FCC was created under the 27th Constitutional Amendment, it was “required to follow the relevant rules” of the SC until its own regulatory framework could be developed.

The CJ described the creation of the FCC as an “important institutional development in the constitutional history of Pakistan”. He highlighted that constitutional adjudication occupied a “unique position in the administration of justice”.

“It concerns not merely disputes between individuals but questions touching the very structure of the state, the distribution of constitutional powers, the protection of fundamental rights and the preservation of the constitutional order.”

He said the duty of a judiciary is to protect and uphold the constitution while respecting the domains that the constitution itself has ensured to other constitutional institutions.  

He said the separation of powers is not an obstacle to constitutional governance. He emphasized the need to make access to justice easier. Justice Amin said they must continue to strengthen public confidence.

He said access to the apex constitutional institution should not become difficult merely because of geography. He highlighted that keeping this reality in view, the court has established broad registries in all four provinces of Pakistan. 

He said alongside the discharge of its judicial responsibilities the court has established its essential judicial and administrative infrastructure and developed a modern and fully equipped directive of information technology to meet the technological requirements of the contemporary constitutional institutions.

He said they have to build an institution while simultaneously performing the judicial responsibilities entrusted to us by the Constitution.

He said institutions are built by people and by commitments, and the institutions are sustained by discipline and grow through collective sacrifices and devotion to the purpose larger than individual convenience.

Speaking on the occasion, Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan said the court is setting its own ambitions for itself, in public, rather than waiting for someone else to set them on its behalf.

Reporter Amanat Gishkori