ISLAMABAD: The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) has been shifted to the Federal Shariat Court (FSC) building opposite the Supreme Court building situated on the Constitution Avenue.
Chief Justice Federal Constitutional Court Justice Aminuddin Khan Monday formally inaugurated the FCC. He was accompanied by the FCC judges as well as Federal Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazir Tarar and Attorney General for Pakistan Usman Mansoor Awan.Earlier, the court was temporarily operating in the building of Islamabad High Court (IHC) while renovation work at the Federal Shariat Court (FSC) was in progress. Three benches of the court have already started hearing cases, including a three-member bench headed by the chief justice that was hearing cases related to levy of super tax.
President Asif Ali Zardari had approved the transfer of the Federal Shariat Court and the Federal Constitutional Court on December 11. Meanwhile, as part of ongoing reforms aimed at strengthening service delivery and enhancing access to justice, Haroon-ur-Rashid, President of the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan, along with members of his cabinet, inaugurated the Advocates-on-Record & Litigant Facilitation Centre, established by the Supreme Court, within the court premises on Monday. The inauguration ceremony was attended by Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi and judges of the Supreme Court. The newly established centre has been established to provide structured facilitation to advocates-on-record, enabling them to effectively guide and assist litigants in matters related to procedural requirements, case filing, documentation, and other ancillary issues.
According to a press release, the initiative is a citizen-focused, one-window, walk-in service designed on a people-first service delivery model, aimed at enhancing institutional responsiveness and improving the overall litigant experience at the apex court.
“The Advocates-on-Record & Litigant Facilitation Centre is expected to serve as an effective interface between litigants, counsel, and court administration, thereby contributing to a more responsive, transparent, and efficient justice sector,” it added.
