Justice Qazi Faez Isa, who was sworn in as 29th chief justice of Pakistan on 7th September, 2023, is admired as a highly qualified and upright jurist of Pakistan. Throughout his legal career, he has been maintaining the highest level of integrity, credibility and impartiality. His judgements have left an impact on the political, constitutional and executive structure of the country in many ways. He was one of the few judges who refused to take oath under General Pervez Musharraf’s Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) when he declared emergency in 2007.
President Alvi appoints Justice Qazi Faez Isa Chief Justice of Pakistan
President Dr Arif Alvi on June 21, 2023, appointed Justice Isa as the next chief justice of Pakistan. An announcement on Twitter read, “President Dr Arif Alvi has appointed Justice Qazi Faez Isa as the Chief Justice of Pakistan. His appointment will be effective from September 17, 2023 with the retirement of Justice Umar Ata Bandial.”
The president took the oath of office from Justice Qazi Faez Isa on September 17, 2023.
Justice Qazi Faez Isa’s appointment as 29th CJP and his tenure
Justice Qazi Faez Isa will be serving as CJP till 25 October 2024 as per the rules and regulations of the Supreme Court Pakistan.
Who will be the CJP after Qazi Faez Isa’s retirement?
Justice Ijazul Ahsan will become the 30th chief justice of Pakistan on completion of Qazi Faez Isa’s tenure.
Justice Qazi Faez’s early life
Justice Qazi Faez was born on 26 October 1959 in Quetta. He is the son of the late Qazi Mohammad Isa of Pishin and the grandson of Qazi Jalaluddin, who was the prime minister of the princely state of Kalat under the British Raj.
Justice Qazi Faez Isa’s father
Justice Qazi Faez Isa’s father Qazi Mohammad Isa of Pishin was in the forefront of the Pakistan Movement and a close associate of the Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. His father was the first person from the province to acquire the Bar-at-Law degree and he helped establish the All India Muslim League in Balochistan after his return from London. He served as the only member on the Central Working Committee of the All India Muslim League from Balochistan.
Justice Qazi Faez Isa’s mother
Justice Qazi Faez Isa’s mother Begum Saida Isa was a social worker and worked in an honorary position on the boards of hospitals and other charitable organisations, which focused on education and women and children’s health issues.
Justice Qazi Faez Isa’s family
Justice Qazi Faez Isa lives in Islamabad with his wife and has two children. He has a 33 years old married daughter who has three kids whereas his son is 30 years old. Both his son and daughter are living in UK.
Qazi Faez Isa and wife Sarina Isa’s assets
Details of Qazi Faez Isa and wife Sarina Isa’s assets, tax payments and net wealth are available publically on the Supreme Court website. The details can be accessed through the link below:
Educational background of Qazi Faez Isa
After completing his primary and secondary education in Quetta, Isa moved to Karachi to finish his ‘O’ and ‘A’ levels from the Karachi Grammar School (KGS). He then went on to study law in London, where he completed his Bar Professional Examination from the Inns of Court School Law, London.
Professional Journey of Justice Qazi Faez Isa
Justice Isa enrolled as an Advocate of the Balochistan High Court on Jan 30, 1985, and as an Advocate of the Supreme Court in March 1998. He practised law for over 27 years in 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 a Life Member of the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan. After completing his law studies, 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.
Justice Qazi Faez attends parliament session
On 10 April 2023, Justice Qazi Faez Isa, who walked to the Parliament House from the Supreme Court building, was the only top court judge to attend the National Constitution Convention (NCC). He said that “he stands with the Constitution at a time when the federal government and the judiciary are at loggerheads and the schism between two groups of the Supreme Court judges is no longer a secret.” He showed his valued presence in the National Assembly’s hall at the golden jubilee of the 1973 Constitution.
Presidential reference against Justice Isa
Justice Qazi Faez Isa faced some challenging situations as a Supreme Court Judge. He faced a presidential reference filed by the PTI government in May 2019 that alleged that he had acquired three properties in London on lease in the name of his wife and children between 2011 and 2015, but did not disclose them in his wealth returns. Justice Isa contested the allegations, saying he was not a beneficial owner of the flats directly or indirectly.
On June 19, 2020, a 10-member SC bench threw out the presidential reference against Justice Isa and termed it invalid. However, seven of the 10 judges on the bench ordered the Inland Revenue Department and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to seek explanation from the judge’s wife and children on the nature and source of funding for three properties in their names in the UK and submit a report to the SC registrar.
Later in 2021, Justice Isa won the case and the SC directive was set aside. As a result, the entire exercise conducted by the FBR was rendered null and void. However, even when the reference was finally quashed in the second round, the PTI government had instituted a curative review.
