Justice Aminuddin Khan on Friday was sworn in as the first chief justice of the newly established Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) after the 27th Amendment was enacted into law a day earlier.

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir and Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Sahir Shamshad Mirza were also present for the ceremony held at the Aiwan-i-Sadr in Islamabad. Meanwhile, Supreme Court Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif sat alongside Justice Aminuddin on the stage.

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, his sister Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, Senate Chairman Yousuf Raza Gillani, and members of the federal cabinet were also in attendance.

The ceremony began with the recitation of the Holy Quran, following which President Zardari administered the oath to Justice Aminuddin in English.

In his oath, Justice Aminuddin vowed to discharge his duties in accordance with the Constitution and the law, while also abiding by the code of conduct issued by the Supreme Judicial Council.

“That I will not allow my personal interest to influence my official conduct or my official decisions. That I will preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and that in all circumstances, I will do right to all manner of people according to law, without fear or favour, affection or ill will,” he said in his oath, after which he shook hands with the president.

His appointment was made by President Asif Ali Zardari a day earlier under Clause 3 of Article 175A, read with Article 175C, of the Constitution, adding that it would come into effect from the date of Justice Aminuddin’s oath-taking.

The proposal to establish the FCC has been revived as part of the judicial reforms incorporated in the 27th Constitutional Amendment. According to government officials, the FCC’s creation aims to reduce the SC’s workload, ensure timely adjudication of constitutional cases and strengthen judicial independence and credibility.

6 judges appointed to FCC

President Zardari also appointed the remaining six judges to the FCC. A notification issued by the law ministry, a copy of which is available with Dawn, said that the president made the appointments under Clause 3 of Article 175-A read with Article 175-C of the Constitution.

Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Ali Baqar Najafi of the Supreme Court, Justice KK Agha of the Sindh High Court and Balochistan High Court Chief Justice Rozi Khan Barrech were appointed to the FCC.

Justice (retd) Arshad Hussain Shah has also been appointed. He was appointed as Justice Musarrat Hilali was not willing to join the FCC, a source told Dawn.

The initial strength of the FCC was determined through a presidential order, while any fu­­ture increase in the number of judges will require parliamentary approval through an act of Parliament.

Of the judges appointed to the FCC, Justices Rizvi, Farooq and Najafi were administered the oath by Justice Aminuddin at the Islamabad High Court (IHC) today.

It was earlier reported that the oath-taking ceremony for the FCC judges would be held at the IHC, as judges of the Federal Shariat Court (FSC) had resisted an immediate relocation to the third floor of the IHC building.

Initially, the oath-taking of Justice Aminud­din was scheduled for Thursday at 10am. However, following a minor revision to the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill, the legislation had to be returned to the Senate for approval. After the Senate cleared the bill on Thursday, the ceremony was first rescheduled for 6pm and was later moved to Friday morning.

Interestingly, that ceremony was also not held in the FSC as originally planned. The FCC was intended to be established in the FSC building in Islamabad, while the FSC was to be shifted to the IHC premises. However, sources within the FSC revealed that its judges expressed dissatisfaction over their abrupt relocation and raised the matter with CJP Afridi.