The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Wednesday issued a detailed judgment on the jurisdictional limits of the Supreme Court and the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) following the 27th Constitutional Amendment.

In its ruling, a two-member bench led by Chief Justice Yahya Afridi emphasised that the Supreme Court and the Federal Constitutional Court are independent of each other, functioning as parallel institutions rather than one being subordinate to the other.

The court, however, said decisions of the Federal Constitutional Court are binding on other courts in matters concerning legal principles.

The judgment clarified that Article 189 does not make one court subordinate to the other, adding that combining constitutional and non-constitutional cases in a single forum could create constitutional complexities.

Going forward, constitutional and regular cases will be heard in separate forums: constitutional matters will fall under the Federal Constitutional Court, while regular civil and criminal cases will remain with the Supreme Court.

To avoid conflicting judgments, the court stressed the principle of judicial respect, noting that both courts must honour each other’s jurisdiction while issuing rulings.

Appeals arising from constitutional petitions under Article 199 will now be heard by the Federal Constitutional Court, whereas ordinary civil and regular appeals will continue to be under the Supreme Court’s authority.

Chief Justice Afridi further explained that appeals against a high court’s decisions of a constitutional nature will now be considered as transferred to the Federal Constitutional Court, while tenancy and certain family law matters will remain outside its jurisdiction.

The Supreme Court also ordered the “de-clubbing” of cases related to a joint decision by the Peshawar High Court.

Civil appeals will continue to be heard by the Supreme Court, while appeals relating to constitutional petitions will be transferred to the Federal Constitutional Court.

On matters of contempt of court, the verdict clarified that such cases will be heard by the court whose orders were violated.

Proceedings concerning the Supreme Court’s orders will remain in the Supreme Court, reinforcing that contempt powers are tied to the authority and dignity of the court.