Military Courts case

Jawwad S. Khawaja v. Federation of Pakistan, PLD 2024 SC 337 (commonly referred to as the military courts case), is a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in which it was held that the Constitution of Pakistan does not allow for the court-martial of civilians.

The case concerned the constitutionality of military courts set up to try protestors accused of involvement in the May 9 riots that ensued from the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan. The Supreme Court was petitioned in its original jurisdiction by lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan, retired chief justice of Pakistan Jawwad S. Khawaja, and the parents of the accused; arguments before the Court proceeded from June to October 2023.

On 23 October 2023, the Court issued a unanimous decision striking down ongoing trials by military courts and, by a majority of 4-1, held that § 2(1)(d) of the Pakistan Army Act, 1952 enabling such trials was unconstitutional. It also held that the accused 103 persons would be tried by civilian courts under ordinary criminal law. The decision was celebrated by legal experts, human rights groups, and civil society as 'brave' and 'truly historic'.

The judgment was challenged by federal and provincial caretaker governments before a larger bench, in the first appeal of its kind under the newly passed Practice and Procedure Act, 2023. The formation of the appellate bench by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa was controversial, and the inclusion of the head of the bench, Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, objected to for having opposed the same petitions earlier. The new bench suspended the ruling, stating that the trials of civilians would continue in military courts.

On 8 May 2025, the appellate bench, having since been reconstituted as a Constitutional Bench under the Twenty-Sixth Amendment, overturned Jawwad S. Khawaja by a 5-2 majority, validated the trials, and restored § 2(1)(d). The reversal was widely denounced by lawyers as a 'judicial surrender'.