The courts a firm keeps a diary for
29 forums, from the Supreme Court to the tehsil civil court — what each one is for, where it sits, and what a practice has to track for a matter in front of it.
Superior courts
The Supreme Court, the Federal Shariat Court and the High Courts, with the benches each one sits at.
The final appellate court, sitting at Islamabad with branch registries in four provincial capitals. 5 sitting places.
Examines whether laws conform to the Injunctions of Islam, and hears appeals in Hudood matters. 5 sitting places.
The High Court for the Islamabad Capital Territory, with a single seat and no benches.
The High Court for Punjab, sitting at Lahore with benches at Rawalpindi, Multan and Bahawalpur. 4 sitting places.
The High Court for Sindh, sitting at Karachi with benches at Hyderabad, Sukkur and Larkana. 4 sitting places.
The High Court for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, sitting at Peshawar with benches at six other stations. 7 sitting places.
The High Court for Balochistan, sitting at Quetta with benches at Sibi, Turbat, Loralai and Khuzdar. 5 sitting places.
The High Court for Azad Jammu & Kashmir, sitting at Muzaffarabad and Mirpur. 2 sitting places.
The highest appellate forum in Gilgit-Baltistan, sitting at Gilgit.
The principal court of Gilgit-Baltistan, sitting at Gilgit and Skardu. 2 sitting places.
Specialist courts and tribunals
Banking, anti-terrorism, accountability, labour, tax and the rest — sitting in the cities where that work is done.
Hears appeals by civil servants against their terms and conditions of service. 7 sitting places.
The National Industrial Relations Commission, hearing trans-provincial industrial matters. 9 sitting places.
Tries customs, taxation and anti-smuggling offences. 10 sitting places.
Hears appeals in income tax and sales tax matters. 13 sitting places.
Federal and provincial Ombudsman offices, and the specialist Ombudsmen. 12 sitting places.
Hears recovery suits brought by financial institutions, and related proceedings. 13 sitting places.
Tries scheduled offences under anti-terrorism legislation, sitting in most divisional headquarters. 17 sitting places.
Tries corruption references, sitting in the principal cities. 9 sitting places.
Hears consumer complaints under provincial consumer protection law. 12 sitting places.
Hears industrial and employment disputes under provincial labour law. 17 sitting places.
Ordinary courts
The courts that sit in every district and most tehsils, and where the bulk of a litigation practice lives.
Hears landlord and tenant matters under provincial rent law. Sits in every district.
Hears dissolution, dower, maintenance, custody and related family matters. Sits in every district.
The senior judge on the civil side in a district, with administrative work alongside. Sits in every district.
Additional courts sharing the District & Sessions Court's work in the same building. Sits in every district.
The principal court of each district, on both the civil and the criminal side. Sits in every district.
The court of first instance for most civil suits. Sits in every district.
Tries the less grave criminal offences and deals with remand and interim criminal matters. Sits in every district.
Deals with guardianship of a minor's person and property. Sits in every district.
Arbitral proceedings, and the court applications that surround them. Sits in every district.
Start with today's list.
Set your firm up in a couple of minutes, enter the cases you are running this week, and let your associates report from court.