ISLAMABAD:
The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) has ruled that strikes called by bar associations and bar councils are not only illegal, but also violate a litigant’s constitutional right of access to the courts, believing that such actions deprive citizens of legal representation and further strain an already strained justice system.
In a detailed 20-page ruling, authored by Justice Aamer Farooq, the FCC upheld a Peshawar High Court (PHC) ruling that restored the practice licenses of two lawyers.
The court noted that bar strikes constitute a denial of access to the courts and cannot be justified, regardless of the reason behind them. “The practice of calling strikes by Bar Associations or Bar Councils is common in the subcontinent. This practice is not only illegal but also in violation of the right of access to courts of a litigant and his lawyer,” Justice Aamer Farooq observed while hearing the Peshawar High Court Bar Association v PHC order restoring the practice license of two lawyers.
The ruling noted that when strikes are called, the bar bodies restrict lawyers from appearing before the courts. “So essentially, on that day, a plaintiff is stripped of his right as an attorney to represent him, and the hearing of his case is adjourned with no progress on the case.”
According to the facts of the case, the case arose from the murder of a young lawyer, in which a station house officer was involved.
An FIR was duly registered and the incident sparked protests demanding the officer be brought to justice. The officer subsequently surrendered to the court and was remanded in custody. He later engaged lawyer Shabbir Hussain Gigyani as his counsel.
This development prompted the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council to pass a resolution barring any lawyer from representing the accused officer.
Meanwhile, lawyer Ali Azim Afridi faced disciplinary action as his license was suspended by the Executive Committee of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council in an emergency meeting convened on October 8, 2025.
The suspension followed a notice from the Peshawar Bar Council, which cited his court appearance during a declared strike as an act of “indiscipline”.
The respondents challenged the suspension of their licenses before the PHC, which allowed their writs through a consolidated judgment.
‘Denial of access to the courts’
A division bench of the FCC, headed by Justice Aamer Farooq, held that lawyers’ strikes amount to a denial of access to the courts.
“Our judicial system is already overburdened and the reasons why the lists before the courts are heavy and the claimants have to wait for years for the case to culminate and in such a situation the strike call by a section of the legal bodies increases the plight of the claimant.”
The court further noted, “No matter how noble the cause of the lawyers’ strike, it is neither the solution nor the way to express their concern, as it comes at the expense of a litigant awaiting redress of his grievance or justice to be served.”
“Denial of access to the courts in any form is a violation of the Constitution, whether it is in the form of failure to appear before the courts or closure of administrative or judicial work.”
The FCC ruled that barring attorneys from representing plaintiffs or appearing in court is completely illegal.
