Chief Justice of Pakistan
| Chief Justice of Pakistan منصف اعظم پاکستان – Mansaf-e-Āzam | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Supreme Court of Pakistan | |
| Style | The Honorable (formal) Your Honor (within court) Mr. Chief Justice (informal) |
| Status | Chief justice |
| Seat | Supreme Court of Pakistan Building, Islamabad, and Lahore |
| Nominator | Prime Minister of Pakistan |
| Appointer | President of Pakistan |
| Term length | Variable Until the age of 65 |
| Constituting instrument | Constitution of Pakistan |
| Formation | 27 June 1949 |
| First holder | Abdul Rashid (as Federal Chief Justice) |
The Chief Justice of Pakistan (initials as CJP) is the head of the court system of Pakistan (the judicature branch of government) and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.[1] The chief justice is the senior most of 17 senior justices of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.[2] From 1947 until 1960, the chief justice and senior justices were known as Federal Judge.[3]
The chief justice is the chief administrative officer of the country's court system and the highest judicial officer, ranking immediately above the chief justice of the Federal Shariat Court, and is responsible for supervising federal judicial policies, and conducting judicial business in the Supreme Court.[4][5]
Nomination for the appointment of the chief justice is made by the prime minister of Pakistan, and final appointments are confirmed by the president of Pakistan.[6][7] Presiding over the oral arguments before the court, the chief justice has significant agenda-setting power over meetings of the Supreme Court. In modern tradition[clarification needed], the chief justice has the ceremonial duty of administering the oath of office of the president of Pakistan.[8]
The first chief justice was Sir Abdul Rashid.[9][10] The current chief justice is Gulzar Ahmed; incumbent since 21 December 2019.
