Pakistan Constitutional Court Limits Lawyers’ Arguments to 10 Minutes
ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN — WEB DESK: Pakistan’s Federal Constitutional Court has introduced a 10-minute limit for each lawyer to present arguments, with Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan ordering the installation of a stopwatch in the courtroom as part of an effort to speed up proceedings and the disposal of cases.
Under the new courtroom arrangement each lawyer will be allocated 10 minutes for oral arguments. Once the allotted period expires, the stopwatch installed in the courtroom begins to beep, signalling that the lawyer’s time has ended.
Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan said setting a defined period for lawyers’ submissions would help the court reach decisions more quickly.
The measure represents a practical attempt at tighter courtroom time management as Pakistan’s judiciary continues to confront longstanding concerns over delays and pending cases.
whether additional time can be granted in complex constitutional matters, or how the rule will operate when multiple lawyers represent the same party. Those details should therefore not be assumed until further guidance is available.
The latest step follows broader comments from the chief justice about improving the Federal Constitutional Court’s institutional efficiency.
At a ceremony marking the beginning of the new judicial year earlier this month, Justice Aminuddin said that modern technology should be incorporated into judicial work, arguing that technology could improve institutional efficiency and transparency. He also said access to justice was the right of every citizen.
Justice Aminuddin said at the time that cases were being fixed for hearings transparently and that the Federal Constitutional Court had decided several important matters in the relatively short period since its establishment.
The court has recently been handling several significant constitutional matters.
Earlier this month, a three-member bench headed by Justice Aminuddin sought records from the Supreme Court and high courts in a case involving requests by prisoners for medical facilities similar to those ordered for former prime minister Imran Khan. The bench included Justices Aamer Farooq and Ali Baqar Najafi.
The latest 10-minute measure is therefore best characterised as a courtroom case-management initiative aimed at making oral proceedings more time-efficient, rather than a broader change to Pakistan’s procedural law.
Its practical impact will depend on how consistently it is implemented and whether the court allows flexibility for cases requiring lengthy constitutional or factual arguments.
No detailed written procedural order explaining exceptions or other operational aspects of the stopwatch system was identified in the material reviewed at publication time.
