Khokhar terms transfer of NAB appeals to FCCP consistent with constitutional amendments

Eminent constitutional and international law expert and Advocate Supreme Court, Hafiz Ehsan Ahmad Khokhar has termed the Supreme Court's decision to transfer appeals in National Accountability Bureau (NAB) cases to the Federal Constitutional Court a historic constitutional ruling, saying it gave practical effect to the new judicial framework introduced through the 26th and 27th Constitutional Amendments

ISLAMABAD, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 24th Jul, 2026) Eminent constitutional and international law expert and Advocate Supreme Court, Hafiz Ehsan Ahmad Khokhar has termed the Supreme Court's decision to transfer appeals in National Accountability Bureau (NAB) cases to the Federal Constitutional Court a historic constitutional ruling, saying it gave practical effect to the new judicial framework introduced through the 26th and 27th Constitutional Amendments.

In a statement issued on Friday, Khokhar said the judgment delivered by a three-member bench headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar had removed the long-standing legal ambiguity regarding the interpretation of Section 32A of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999, inserted through the NAB amendments.

He said the Court had made it clear that second appeals against High Court judgments under Section 32 of the Ordinance would now lie before the Federal Constitutional Court.

According to Khokhar, appeals relating to convictions, acquittals, bail, suspension of sentence and other ancillary NAB matters falling within the amended legal framework would henceforth be heard by the Federal Constitutional Court.

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He maintained that the right of appeal was not a fundamental constitutional right but a statutory right created by law, which Parliament was competent to establish, regulate, amend or transfer in accordance with the Constitution.

Khokhar said Articles 142 and 191A of the Constitution empower Parliament to designate the Federal Constitutional Court as the appellate forum for second appeals under the National Accountability Ordinance.

He further observed that the Supreme Court's ruling reaffirmed the constitutional principle that the jurisdiction of every court was derived solely from the Constitution and the law, rather than administrative convenience or judicial preference.

He added that the judgment would strengthen the new constitutional framework established under the 26th and 27th Constitutional Amendments, promote institutional harmony in the exercise of judicial powers, and serve as an important precedent for the interpretation of appellate and constitutional jurisdiction in the future.