Lawyers can’t be suspended for arguing cases during strike: Pakistan court

Pakistan's Federal Constitutional Court has delivered a landmark judgment, stating that lawyers cannot have their licenses suspended for representing clients or appearing in court during a strike. The court criticized the practice of frequent strike calls by bar associations, labeling them illegal and a violation of the constitutional right to access justice for litigants.

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When a strike call is made, the lawyer bodies restrict lawyers from appearing before the courts. Consequently, a litigant, on that day, is deprived of his legal practitioner’s representation, and proceedings in his case are adjourned without any progress. This amounts to a denial of access to justice.

Authored by Justice Aamer Farooq, the 20-page ruling emphasized that restricting lawyers from appearing in court deprives litigants of representation and leads to adjournments, effectively denying them access to justice. The court also found that such restrictions infringe upon the fundamental right to practice a profession, as guaranteed by Article 18 of the Constitution.

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Preventing lawyers from representing litigants or from approaching and appearing before courts was wholly impermissible.

The case involved the suspension of licenses for two lawyers. One was disciplined for representing an accused officer in a murder investigation, an act deemed "indiscipline" by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council. The other lawyer faced similar action for appearing in court during a strike. The Federal Constitutional Court overturned these suspensions, asserting that preventing lawyers from representing clients is impermissible.

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Such restrictions struck at the heart of the economic freedom guaranteed under Article 18, which was designed to protect the right to pursue a lawful profession.