Seat Islamabad Term length Variable Until age 65 | Appointer President of Pakistan Formation 27 June 1949 | |
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Style The Honorable
My Lord (When addressed directly in court) Nominator Prime Minister of Pakistan | ||
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. The Chief Justice is one of the most senior of 17 Senior Justices of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. From 1947 until 1960, the chief justice and senior justices were known as Federal Judge.
The Chief Justice is the chief administrative officer of country's court system and a highest judicial officer, supervising federal judicial policies and conducting judicial business in the Supreme Court. Nominations for the appointment of Chief Justice is made by Prime Minister of Pakistan and final appointments are confirmed by the President of Pakistan. Presiding over the oral arguments before the court, the Chief Justice leads significant agenda-setting power over the court's meeting. In modern tradition, the Chief Justice has the ceremonial duty of administering the oath of office of the President of Pakistan.
The first Chief Justice was Sir Abdul Rashid. The current Chief Justice is Mian Saqib Nisar, incumbent since 31 December 2016.
List of Chief Justices
Pakistan's longest-serving Chief Justice was Mohammad Haleem. The shortest-serving Chief Justice was Muhammad Shahabuddin, who died in office 9 days after taking oath. Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry is the only Justice to have served non-consecutive terms, for a total of three terms. President Pervez Musharraf appointed six nominees to the post, the most by any president (A. H. Dogar is discounted from the tally, as his appointment was subsequently voided by the Supreme Court).