Law of Pakistan
Encyclopedia
The Law of Pakistan is the law
and legal system existing in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
. Pakistani law is based upon the legal system of British India
; thus ultimately on the common law of England and Wales
. Pakistan as an Islamic republic
also has been influenced by Islamic Sharia
law.
in 1947 the laws of the erstwhile British Raj remained in force. At no point in Pakistan's legal history was there an intention to begin the statute book afresh. During the reign of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq
, elements of Islamic Sharia
law were incorporated into Pakistani law, leading to the institution of a Federal Shariat Court (FSC). In some Federally
and Provincially Administered Tribal Areas
[(FATA) and (PATA)], a system of law employing traditional methods persists at the local level. At this informal level, disputes are settled by a jirga
, a council of tribal elders.
of England and Wales. He took on the role as titular figurhead of Pakistani politics and as a result Pakistan is now a common law system, with an adversarial court procedure and follows other common law practices such as judicial precedent
and the concept of stare decisis
. However Pakistan differs from the classic common law in many way. Firstly both the criminal and civil laws are almost completely codified, a legacy from the days of the British Raj
, when English laws were extended to India by ways of statute. Jury trials have been phased out in Pakistan since independence, because of judicial and public dissatisfaction with their operation; one Pakistani judge called jury trials as "amateur justice". In constitutional law matters Pakistani jurisprudence has been greatly influenced by the United States legal system
, Pakistan has adopted a US-style Federal Structure
. Islamic law
and traditional jirga
-based law has also influenced the country's judicial development.
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
and legal system existing in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. Pakistani law is based upon the legal system of British India
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
; thus ultimately on the common law of England and Wales
English law
English law is the legal system of England and Wales, and is the basis of common law legal systems used in most Commonwealth countries and the United States except Louisiana...
. Pakistan as an Islamic republic
Islamic republic
Islamic republic is the name given to several states in the Muslim world including the Islamic Republics of Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, and Mauritania. Pakistan adopted the title under the constitution of 1956. Mauritania adopted it on 28 November 1958. Iran adopted it after the 1979 Iranian...
also has been influenced by Islamic Sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
law.
History
Upon the list of the Dominion of PakistanDominion of Pakistan
The Dominion of Pakistan was an independent federal Commonwealth realm in South Asia that was established in 1947 on the partition of British India into two sovereign dominions . The Dominion of Pakistan, which included modern-day Pakistan and Bangladesh, was intended to be a homeland for the...
in 1947 the laws of the erstwhile British Raj remained in force. At no point in Pakistan's legal history was there an intention to begin the statute book afresh. During the reign of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq
Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq
General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq , was the 4th Chief Martial Law Administrator and the sixth President of Pakistan from July 1977 to his death in August 1988...
, elements of Islamic Sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
law were incorporated into Pakistani law, leading to the institution of a Federal Shariat Court (FSC). In some Federally
Federally Administered Tribal Areas
The Federally Administered Tribal Areas are a semi-autonomous tribal region in the northwest of Pakistan, lying between the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and the neighboring country of Afghanistan. The FATA comprise seven Agencies and six FRs...
and Provincially Administered Tribal Areas
Provincially Administered Tribal Areas
The Provincially Administered Tribal Areas are Pakistani administrative subdivisions designated in the Article 246 of the Constitution of Pakistan...
[(FATA) and (PATA)], a system of law employing traditional methods persists at the local level. At this informal level, disputes are settled by a jirga
Jirga
A jirga is a tribal assembly of elders which takes decisions by consensus, particularly among the Pashtun people but also in other ethnic groups near them; they are most common in Afghanistan and among the Pashtuns in Pakistan near its border with Afghanistan...
, a council of tribal elders.
Influences
The political ideology was largely sculpted by the likes of individuals such as Muhammad Ali Jinnah (Quaid-e Azam)- the founder of Pakisatan- while studying Law at Lincoln's Inn in London, he became an admirer of British liberalism. It was the these influences that led to the Pakistani common law being based upon the common lawCommon law
Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...
of England and Wales. He took on the role as titular figurhead of Pakistani politics and as a result Pakistan is now a common law system, with an adversarial court procedure and follows other common law practices such as judicial precedent
Precedent
In common law legal systems, a precedent or authority is a principle or rule established in a legal case that a court or other judicial body may apply when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts...
and the concept of stare decisis
Stare decisis
Stare decisis is a legal principle by which judges are obliged to respect the precedents established by prior decisions...
. However Pakistan differs from the classic common law in many way. Firstly both the criminal and civil laws are almost completely codified, a legacy from the days of the British Raj
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
, when English laws were extended to India by ways of statute. Jury trials have been phased out in Pakistan since independence, because of judicial and public dissatisfaction with their operation; one Pakistani judge called jury trials as "amateur justice". In constitutional law matters Pakistani jurisprudence has been greatly influenced by the United States legal system
United States legal system
The United States legal system is the full interconnected system of judicial, regulatory and governmental authorities who together administer and enforce the laws of the United States, operate the judicial system, and resolve judicial disputes and appeals...
, Pakistan has adopted a US-style Federal Structure
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
. Islamic law
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
and traditional jirga
Jirga
A jirga is a tribal assembly of elders which takes decisions by consensus, particularly among the Pashtun people but also in other ethnic groups near them; they are most common in Afghanistan and among the Pashtuns in Pakistan near its border with Afghanistan...
-based law has also influenced the country's judicial development.
External links
- Movement for Rule of Law, Related to Lawyers Movement Pakistan.