Court rules that service standards are not mandatory and state constitutional courts cannot review internal labor matters
ISLAMABAD:
The Lahore High Court (LHC) has dismissed a constitutional petition challenging termination of service within a strategic organization operating under the National Command Authority (NCA).
In a detailed judgment written by Justice Jawad Hassan, the court held that employees governed by non-statutory service rules cannot invoke constitutional jurisdiction under Article 199 of the Constitution.
The case turned on whether the petitioner’s service framework created enforceable public law rights or remained within a master-servant relationship.
Justice Hassan reaffirmed that following an amendment to the NCA Act, service standards applicable to NCA employees are not mandatory unless formally approved and notified, thereby excluding judicial review in the constitutional jurisdiction.
Applying the established “functional test,” the court highlighted that internal administrative rules that lack legal force do not confer enforceable rights.
The ruling further underlined judicial restraint in service matters linked to strategic and defense-related organizations, reinforcing the limited scope of interference by constitutional courts in such areas.
In 2021, the Islamabad High Court ruled that employees of strategic organizations under the NCA cannot file petitions before the constitutional courts to resolve their service matters.
While hearing 108 identical petitions, the court observed that “commitment to non-proliferation and safeguarding against security failures is a crucial obligation. The desperation of non-state actors involved in terrorism to gain advantage due to weak command and control or breach of confidentiality is not a mere myth.”
The NCA is Pakistan’s primary civilian-led body responsible for overseeing the employment, policy formulation, exercises, deployment, research and development, and operational command and control of the country’s nuclear arsenals.
