Mr Umar Ata Bandial (

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Pakistani jurist who currently serves as the 28th Chief Justice of

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

. His appointment as the new Chief Justice was approved by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Dr. Arif Alvi on 13 January 2022, after which he assumed his office on 2 February 2022. He has been a

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

of the

Supreme Court of Pakistan The Supreme Court of Pakistan ( ur, ; ''Adālat-e-Uzma Pākistān'') is the apex court in the judicial hierarchy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Established in accordance to thePart VIIof the Constitution of Pakistan, it has ultimate a ...

since 17 June 2014. Prior to his appointment to the Supreme Court, he served as a Justice of

Lahore High Court The Lahore High Court () is based in Lahore, Pakistan. It was established as a high court on 21 March 1882. The Lahore High Court has jurisdiction over Punjab (Pakistan). The High Court's principal seat is in Lahore, but there are benches in th ...

from 1 June 2012 to 16 June 2014. Justice mr Bandial will serve as the

Chief Justice of Pakistan } The Chief Justice of Pakistan (Urdu: ) (Initialism, initials as CJP) is head of the court system of Pakistan (the Judiciary of Pakistan, judicature branch of Government of Pakistan, government) and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of Paki ...

for one year, six months, and 25 days from 2 February 2022, until his retirement on 16 September 2023.

Early life and education

In 1973, Justice Bandial received his

Senior Cambridge The Senior Cambridge examinations were General Certificate of Education examinations held in India, Jamaica, Malaysia, Pakistan, and Singapore. They were preceded by the Junior Cambridge and Preliminary Cambridge examinations. History India The ...

certificate from St Mary's Academy,

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi ( or ; Urdu, ) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, and third largest in Punjab after Lahore and Faisalabad. Rawalpindi is next to Pakistan's ...

. He then enrolled in Aitchison College, Lahore, for his Higher Senior Cambridge certificate, which he received in 1975. He received his bachelor's degree in economics from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1979 and followed this with a Law Tripos degree from the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

in 1981. He qualified as a

Barrister-at-Law A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and givin ...

from

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Career

He joined the

as an

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

in 1983. He also taught torts law and

contract law A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...

at the Punjab University Law College in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

until 1987, after which he served on its Graduate Studies Committee. He then was made a Judge of the Lahore High Court. After a few years, he became a Judge of the

Lahore High Court

He was elevated as a Judge of the Lahore High Court on 4 December 2004. He was one of the judges who refused to take an oath under the

Provisional Constitutional Order The Provisional Constitutional Order, popularly known as PCO, is an emergency and extra-constitutional order that suspends either wholly or partially the Constitution of Pakistan — the supreme law of land. The PCO fulfills and acts as the temp ...

, preferring to resign instead. He was restored as a LHC judge as a result of the

Lawyers' Movement The Lawyers' Movement, also known as the Movement for the Restoration of Judiciary or the Black Coat Protests, was the popular mass protest movement initiated by the lawyers of Pakistan in response to the former president and army chief Pervez Mus ...

. As a judge of the Lahore High Court, he presided over cases related to constitutional rights, civil and commercial disputes, and

public interest The public interest is "the welfare or well-being of the general public" and society. Overview Economist Lok Sang Ho in his ''Public Policy and the Public Interest'' argues that the public interest must be assessed impartially and, therefore ...

. On 1 June 2012, he was appointed as the 41st

Chief Justice of Lahore High Court Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boa ...

. He served at that post until his appointment as a Supreme Court judge on 16 June 2014.

Supreme Court of Pakistan

Justice Bandial's appointment as the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) was approved by President Arif Alvi on 13 January 2022. He was sworn in on 2 February 2022, in a ceremony at

Aiwan-e-Sadr The Aiwan-e-Sadr ( ur, ), or Presidential Palace, is the official residence and workplace of the President of Pakistan. It is located in northeastern Islamabad on Constitution Avenue, between the Parliament Building and the Cabinet block of ...

. In his first month, he initiated reforms in various organs of the Supreme Court, including the Case Management System, to ensure provision of speedy justice. He reorganized the bodies that dealt with administrative and judicial powers, including the building committee, record enrolment committee, Supreme Court research affairs branch, and law clerk programme. He appointed Justices

Qazi Faez Isa Qazi Faez Isa ( ur, , born 26 October 1959) is a justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan since 5 September 2014. Previously, he served as Chief Justice of the Balochistan High Court from 5 August 2009 to 5 September 2014. Early life and educ ...

, Sardar Tariq Masood, Ijazul Ahsan,

Mazhar Alam Mazhar Alam Miankhel (Urdu:مظهر عالم) is a Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and a former Chief Justice of Peshawar High Court. He served as judge of Peshawar High Court from 2011 to 2014. Early life and education Justice Mazhar ...

, and Sajjad Ali Shah as the monitoring judges of the provincial anti-terrorism courts of

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital T ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...

, and

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

, respectively. As the CJP, Justice Bandial was elected as chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council,

Judicial Commission of Pakistan The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (informally JCP) is a commission for the appointment of Supreme Court and High Court Judges in Pakistan. The Chief Justice of Pakistan is the Chairman of JCP. On 20 April 2010, 18th Constitutional Amendment w ...

, and Law and Justice Commission. The structure of these three bodies was changed completely. In his first month as CJP, the Supreme Court decided a record 1,761 cases in an effort to address the issue of pendency. Senior lawyers noted the discipline in the fixation of cases and formation of benches. In 2022, he was named among the ''Time'' 100 most influential people.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bandial, Umar Ata 1958 births Living people Justices of the Supreme Court of Pakistan Pakistani judges Aitchison College alumni Alumni of the University of Cambridge Chief Justices of the Lahore High Court Columbia College (New York) alumni Chief justices of Pakistan