Islamabad June 21 2023: President of Pakistan issued notification for the appointment of Justice Qazi Faez Isa as next chief justice of Pakistan.
The present Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Umar Atta Bandial, will attain the age of retirement on September 16, 2023 under Article 179 of the Constitution.
The President appointed the Chief Justice under Article 175A-3 of the Constitution.
Justice Qazi Fiaz Isa will resume his responsibilities as Chief Justice of the country from 17th September 2023.
Born on October 26, 1959 in Quetta, Justice Qazi Faez Isa is the son of the late Qazi Mohammad Isa of Pishin, who was in the forefront of the Pakistan Movement, and the grandson of Qazi Jalaluddin, the Prime Minister of Kalat State. Justice Isa’s father was the first person from the province to acquire the Bar-at-Law degree and after his return from London helped establish the All India Muslim League in Balochistan and was nominated by Quaid-e-Azam as the President of the Provincial League and had the distinction of serving as the only member on the Central Working Committee of the All India Muslim League from Balochistan.
Begum Saida Isa, Justice Isa’s mother was a dedicated social worker and worked in an honorary capacity on the boards of hospitals and other charitable organizations focusing on education, children and women’s health issues.
Justice Isa was called to the Bar of England and Wales (Middle Temple, 1982) and enrolled as an advocate of the Balochistan High Court and as an advocate of the Supreme Court from Balochistan. He practiced law for over 27 years before all the High Courts of Pakistan, the Federal Shariat Court and the Supreme Court of Pakistan. He became a member of the Balochistan High Court Bar Association, Sindh High Court Bar Association and Life Member of the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan.
Before Justice Isa’s elevation to the High Court he was a senior partner and head of litigation in one of Pakistan’s leading law firms. He rendered his services as amicus curiae when called upon by the High Courts and Supreme Court of Pakistan and had also conducted international arbitrations. He also served on the boards of the largest bank of Pakistan, the Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan and of the Qauid-e-Azam Mazaar Management Board.
Prior to his elevation Justice Isa regularly wrote on the Constitution, Law, Islam and Environment and his articles were published in Pakistan premier English newspaper. He also co-authored the book: “Mass Media Laws and Regulations in Pakistan” and authored the Report: “Balochistan: Case and Demand”.
After the proclamation of emergency of November 3, 2007, he elected not to appear before judges who had violated their oath. Subsequently, after the Supreme Court declared the action of November 3, 2007 nconstitutional, all the then judges of the High Court of Balochistan tendered their resignation, and on August 5, 2009 Justice Isa was directly elevated to the position of Chief Justice of the High Court of Balochistan.
At the time of his elevation Justice Isa was the solitary judge in the High Court. He nominated judges, all of whom were confirmed, and thus reestablished the High Court of Balochistan. He reopened the High Court at Sibi which had remained closed for a number of years, and acquired land for the construction of the High Court at Turbat and approved the design of its building. He then went on to upgrade all the courts in Balochistan focusing on facilitating access and providing facilities to the public. Justice Isa introduced a system of transparent induction of officials and officers in the High Court after advertising such posts. During his tenure a large number of vacant judicial posts in the subordinate judiciary were filled. Each post was advertised and each applicant had to sit for a series of exams and acquire a minimum pass mark before being invited for an interview.
Justice Qazi Faez Isa took oath as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan on September 5, 2014. He now lives in Islamabad with his wife who he’s been married to for 36 years. He has a son and a daughter and is blessed with three grandchildren.
Justice Isa’s judgments reflect a strong desire to adhere to the Constitution and the Rule of Law. He is also at pains to safeguard the public interest. The following are extracts from notable judgments rendered by Justice Isa. He wrote a powerful dissent in the case assailing the Twenty-first Amendment to the Constitution, which enabled the trial of civilians by military court (District Bar Association, Rawalpindi v Federation of Pakistan, PLD 2015 Supreme Court 410, at 1158-1209).
“Neither the Federation nor the provinces should invade upon the rights of the other nor encroach on the other’s legislative domain”, wrote Justice Isa (Sindh Revenue Board v Civil Aviation Authority, 2017 SCMR 1344) whilst striking down the imposition of ‘sales tax on services’ imposed on the Civil Aviation Authority, a federal regulatory authority, by the Sindh Legislature.
