Thelaw of Pakistan is thelaw andlegal system existing in theIslamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistani law is based upon the legal system ofBritish India; thus ultimately on thecommon law of England and Wales.
Following the establishment of theDominion of Pakistan in 1947, the laws of the erstwhile British Raj remained in force. At no point in Pakistan's legal history was there an intention to begin the statute book afresh. The founder of Pakistan,Muhammad Ali Jinnah had a vision regarding the law of Pakistan, to implement a system in accordance to Islamic teachings, but it was never fulfilled, although it was fulfilled at the later stage when Pakistan had its first constitution in 1956. This vision, however, did have a lasting effect on later Pakistani lawmakers. During the reign of GeneralMuhammad Zia-ul-Haq, elements of IslamicSharia law were incorporated into Pakistani law, leading to the institution of aFederal Shariat Court (FSC). In someFederally andProvincially Administered Tribal Areas [(FATA) and (PATA)], a system of law employing traditional methods, which persists at the local level. At this informal level, disputes are settled by ajirga, a council of tribal elders.[1][2]
The political ideology was largely sculpted by the likes of individuals such asMuhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan – while studying law at Lincoln's Inn in London, he became an admirer of British liberalism. It was these influences that led to the Pakistani common law being based upon thecommon law of England and Wales. He took on the role as titular figurehead of Pakistani politics and as a result Pakistan is now a common law system, with an adversarial court procedure and follows other common law practices such asjudicial precedent and the concept ofstare decisis. However Pakistan differs from the classic common law in many ways. Firstly both the criminal and civil laws are almost completely codified, a legacy from the days of theBritish Raj, when English laws were extended to India by ways of statute.[3]Jury trials have been phased out in Pakistan since independence, because of judicial and public dissatisfaction with their operation; one Pakistani judge called jury trials as "amateur justice".[citation needed] In constitutional law matters Pakistani jurisprudence has been greatly influenced by theUnited States legal system, Pakistan has adopted aUS-style Federal Structure.Islamic law and traditionaljirga-based law has also influenced the country's judicial development.
