Justice Qazi Faez Isa took oath as the Supreme Court’s 29th chief justice on Sunday.

A ceremony was held at the President’s House where President Arif Alvi administered the oath. Senior government officials, including the army chief and members of the cabinet, were also present.

In an unprecedented move during oath taking of Justice Qazi Faez Isa, his wife Sarina Isa stood next to him as he took the oath.

He succeeds Justice Umar Ata Bandial who reached the age of superannuation on Saturday.

Justice Isa was appointed to the Supreme Court on September 5, 2014. He was implicated in a presidential reference in 2019 but the Supreme Court threw out the reference after proceedings. Former PM Imran Khan who had approved the reference expressed regret over his decision.

However, the justice was excluded from benches hearing constitutional petitions.

After a relatively short tenure, Justice Isa will retire in October 2024.

Isa’s tenure begins amid reports of a divided court over the last few months. As senior puisne judge, he also refused to sit on benches after the court stopped the Supreme Court Practice and Procedures bill from taking effect.

The controversial bill, that was passed to essentially clip the CJ’s powers, will be one of the first that the new chief justice will take up. A full-court bench is expected to be formed to hear the case.