New court begins hearings from permanent premises as staff shortage remains challenge
President of the Federal Constitutional Court, Aminuddin Khan, inaugurates the new FCC building Photo: Express
ISLAMABAD:
The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), created under the 27th Constitutional Amendment, has formally moved to the Federal Shariat Court (FSC) building in Islamabad, officials said on Monday.
Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan inaugurated the new facility along with other judges.
Three FCC courts have already begun hearing cases in the FSC building, including a three-member court headed by the chief justice that is taking up super tax cases. The inauguration was also attended by Federal Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar and Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan.
وفااز ۔ منتقلی سے پہلے عمارت کی تزئین و آرائش پر کروڑوں روپے خرچ ۔ pic.twitter.com/DK6MTg0MEJ
-Hasnaat Malik (@HasnaatMalik) January 12, 2026
The renovation work on the FSC building, which lasted several weeks, has now been completed. With the relocation of the FCC, the Federal Shariat Court will now function from the Islamabad High Court (IHC) building.
The FCC had begun operating on November 18 from temporary agreements at the IHC. More than 45 days after its formation, the court has moved to its permanent location. A notification issued on December 11 confirmed that the FCC would operate from the FSC building, while the FSC would move to the IHC.
The agreement was part of the original plan for the newly formed constitutional court, but the move was delayed due to objections raised by judges of the Federal Shariat Court. During the interim period, several FCC judges, including Chief Justice Khan, continued to work from chambers located in the Supreme Court building.
Read: The newly formed FCC faces logistical problems
Despite moving into a permanent location, the FCC continues to face logistical obstacles, particularly a staffing shortage. The Supreme Court has approved the transfer of only 20 officials to support the operation of the court. Besides, 40 judicial officers have been transferred from the Punjab judiciary and some retired Supreme Court officers have been inducted.
Of the total 56,608 cases, 22,910 have been transferred to the FCC from the Supreme Court. Legal experts say dealing with such a large caseload requires a commensurate increase in staff, something that is currently lacking. Observers have also noted that the rate of filing new cases with the FCC is higher than that with the Supreme Court.
