ISLAMABAD: The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) has framed rules covering contempt of court, review petitions, death penalty cases, habeas corpus petitions, appeals, adjournments, enrolment of lawyers, and court proceedings.
Federal Constitutional Court (Practice and Procedure) Rules, 2026 provide that disciplinary action may be taken against a lawyer for filing a frivolous or mala fide review petition, along with costs of at least Rs25,000.
The Registrar may refuse to receive a petition on the ground that it is not in conformity with these Rules or that it is scandalous in nature: Provided that the petitioner may, within fourteen days of such refusal, prefer an appeal to the Judge-in-Chambers.
A party filing a frivolous or mala fide review petition may also be ordered to pay at least Rs25,000 in costs. The applicant will be required to deposit Rs50,000 as security before the review petition is heard. If the review petition is dismissed or declared frivolous, the security amount may be forfeited.
Review petitions will, as far as possible, be heard by the same bench that passed the original judgment or order. If a member of the original bench is unavailable, the matter may be heard by a bench comprising one or more judges of the original bench where possible. The rules also state that a second review petition against an order passed on a review petition will not be allowed, nor will such a subsequent petition be accepted by the registry.
In cases involving a death sentence, the registrar will immediately inform the relevant government when a review petition is filed. Execution of the death sentence will automatically remain suspended until the review petition is decided, without requiring a specific court order. However, this automatic suspension will not apply once all legal proceedings, including appeal, review and mercy petitions, have been completed.
Adjournment of proceedings.— (1) No adjournment in any matter shall be granted except upon a written application filed by the Advocate-on-Record or by the party appearing in person, showing sufficient cause to the satisfaction of the Court:
Provided that no request for adjournment made through letter, fax, email, or any mode other than a proper application under this rule shall ordinarily be entertained:
Provided further that where the Court has announced or fixed a specific date for hearing of any matter, no adjournment shall ordinarily be granted on such date.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
Comments