Justice Aminuddin Khan takes oath as first Chief Justice of Federal Constitutional Court

Islamabad (Web Desk): Justice Aminuddin Khan took oath as the first Chief Justice of the newly established Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), an institution created under the 27th Constitutional Amendment.

President Asif Ali Zardari administered the oath to Justice Amin at Aiwan-e-Sadr, a day after signing off on his appointment following the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

The ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, Chairman Senate Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Chief Justice Supreme Court of Pakistan Justice Yahya Afridi, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Naveed Ashraf, federal ministers, members of the Parliament and other high level authorities attended the oath taking ceremony.

Justice Aminuddin, whose legal career spans nearly forty years, previously led the constitutional bench formed through the 26th Constitutional Amendment before it was dissolved.

As per the sources, the Islamabad High Court was preparing its open space between the judges’ block and the administration block to host the oath-taking of six additional FCC judges. Once sworn in as chief justice, Justice Aminuddin will administer their oaths.

The sources also shared that Supreme Court Justice Musarrat Hilali has opted out of the FCC due to health-related issues. Her name had been under consideration for the new court, but she expressed her inability to join, and her bench was recently delisted because of her illness.

It has further been decided that Justice Aminuddin will occupy Room No. 1 at the IHC, while IHC Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar will shift to Court Room No. 2. The total number of FCC judges is expected to reach 13.

The FCC, created through the latest constitutional amendment, will feature equal representation from all provinces.

The president and the prime minister will play central roles in judicial nominations, while the responsibility for hearing constitutional matters previously handled by the Supreme Court will now shift to the new court. One of the Supreme Court’s most defining authorities—the suo motu power—has also been transferred to the FCC, which will be able to take suo motu action on the basis of petitions.

Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, who assumed office as the country’s top judge on October 30, 2024, continues to hold the highest judicial position.

However, once his three-year term ends, the senior-most judge among the Supreme Court and FCC judges will become the next top judge.

As part of the wider restructuring brought by the recent amendments, the constitutional benches have been dissolved, and a new system for forming benches has been introduced through the Supreme Court Practice and Procedure (Amendment) Bill 2025.

Under this framework, a three-member committee—comprising the Chief Justice of Pakistan, the most senior judge and another judge nominated by the chief justice—will decide the constitution of benches. If any member is unavailable, the chief justice may assign a replacement, and decisions will be made through majority vote.

The amendments also set the retirement age for FCC judges at 68, which is three years higher than the current retirement age of 65 for Supreme Court judges.