Year in review: a look at some of the most important court rulings

The year 2024 saw significant judicial rulings and overturning of decisions in Pakistan.

Here is a look at some of the most defining judgments of this year:

Military court sentences 85 civilians

In December, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) announced that Field General Court Martial (FGCM) concluded the trials of individuals involved in the May 9 riots and sentenced 85 civilians.

The sentences ranged from two to ten years of rigorous imprisonment, following comprehensive legal proceedings.

The decision by the military came after the Supreme Court’s constitutional bench conditionally allowed military courts to pronounce the verdicts of 85 under-custody civilians in cases pertaining to the May 9 riots.

26th Constitutional Amendment

The 26th Constitutional Amendment Bill, 2024 was passed by the National Assembly with a two-thirds majority on October 21 and later President Asif Ali Zardari gave his assent to the bill.

Some key points of 26th Amendment Bill, 2024:

• The term for the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) was set at three years.

• A 12-member parliamentary committee will select the new CJP from a panel of the three most senior judges.

• The parliamentary committee, consisting of eight members from the NA and four from the Senate, will propose the name to the prime minister, who will then forward it to the president for final approval.

• A Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), led by the CJP and including three senior judges, two members each from the NA and Senate, the federal minister for law and justice, the attorney general, and a legal expert with at least 15 years of Supreme Court experience, will oversee judicial appointments.

Following the passage of the bill, Justice Yahya Afridi became the 30th chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) on October 26, for a fixed three-year term because for the first time in Pakistan, the top judge was selected based on the recommendation of a Special Parliamentary Committee.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Jamaat-e-Islami, and others challenged the amendment as well as some individuals and lawyers also challenged the piece of legislation.

NAB amendments case

Last year, a bench headed by then-Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial struck down some amendments made to the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO), 1999 by the then-Pakistan Democratic Movement-led (PDM) government in 2022.

This year in September, the SC bench overturned the previous majority verdict.

The amendments included:

• Reducing the term of the NAB chairman and prosecutor general to three years

• Limiting NAB’s jurisdiction to cases involving over Rs500 million, and

• Transferring all pending inquiries, investigations and trials to the relevant authorities

PTI given back reserved seats

In July, SC declared Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) eligible for seats reserved for women and minorities, making Imran Khan’s party the single largest in both houses of parliament.

Though this decision was a victory for PTI, the party’s strength remains lower as the ruling coalition continues to hold a simple majority of 209 members.

PTI stripped off election symbol

In January, the SC deprived PTI from the “cricket bat” symbol in general elections held on February 8, 2024. The court ruled that the party could not demonstrate that it had held internal party elections, much less transparent ones.

The verdict meant the PTI’s ticket holders would have to contest the elections as independent candidates. Following the decision, the PTI-backed members joined Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) to contest elections.