ISLAMABAD:
The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) has warned that judicial corruption in Pakistan has reached systemic proportions and may amount to grand corruption, saying the country’s judicial system has become increasingly vulnerable to political influence and institutional capture.
The organization made the observations in a report titled “Under the Bench: Mapping Corruption Risks in Pakistan’s Justice System.”
According to the summary, Pakistan’s democratic institutions, including the judiciary, have come under increasing pressure over the past several years and have been subject to gradual weakening and capture of executive power.
“This has been accompanied by a severe suppression of fundamental freedoms, facilitated by repressive legislation and serious violations of human rights. In this context, the judiciary has become a tool to suppress and silence activists and dissidents,” the report said.
The report says that the 26th and 27th constitutional amendments have had a significant negative impact on the independence of the judiciary and the protection of fair trial in Pakistan.
“This development marks a regressive shift in Pakistan’s legal and constitutional order by completely stripping away the limited independence previously enjoyed by the judiciary,” it said.
According to the report, judicial appointments, court formation and high-level case management are now subject to political influence in ways that run counter to international standards of judicial independence.
It is further argued that these structural distortions at the top level have also affected the lower judiciary, where judges are influenced by higher courts in their behavior and decision-making, increasing the potential for external pressure.
The report recommends repealing both constitutional amendments to restore judicial independence.
Examining judicial corruption, the report finds that corruption has become endemic throughout Pakistan’s judicial system, undermining the independence and effectiveness of the judiciary and its ability to uphold due process and protect fundamental freedoms.
It identifies three interrelated factors that enable corruption: weak administration of justice across all levels of the justice system, leading to bribery and corrupt practices; cultural dynamics that encourage favoritism and nepotism; and the erosion of judicial independence, which has resulted in what it describes as state capture of the superior judiciary.
The report also examines what it calls the failure of existing accountability mechanisms to effectively investigate allegations of corruption and hold those responsible accountable.
It argues that accountability institutions have increasingly been politicized and used as tools for political victimization rather than as mechanisms for dealing with systemic corruption. It highlights the lack of protection for whistleblowers amid growing restrictions on freedom of expression and shrinking civic space.
According to the report, judicial corruption has serious human rights implications, including violations of due process and equality before the law, particularly affecting low-income communities and minorities.
It also links corruption to the prevalence of torture and the use of the death penalty and highlights its negative impact on gender equality within both the legal profession and the judiciary.
“The report concludes that there are indications that judicial corruption in Pakistan has reached a systemic scale and may amount to grand corruption,” it said.
It also offers a number of recommendations aimed at addressing weaknesses in the administration of justice, improving transparency, strengthening accountability mechanisms, ensuring action against corrupt officials and protecting whistleblowers.
The report says its findings are based on interviews with 30 interlocutors, including four women, who have knowledge of Pakistan’s legal system. Those interviewed included lawyers, former and retired judges – including two former Chief Justices of Pakistan, former Supreme Court Justices and one former Supreme Court Justice – as well as journalists and representatives of civil society organisations.
The report further states that attacks on judicial independence and fundamental freedoms have been exacerbated by widespread corruption across public institutions.
Citing Transparency International Pakistan’s 2025 National Corruption Perception Survey, the report says the police is perceived as the most corrupt institution in the country, while the judiciary ranks third nationally.
FIDH is an international human rights NGO that brings together almost 200 member organisations. Since 1922, FIDH has defended all civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, according to its website.
