Building – Supreme Court of Pakistan

The Supreme Court building is situated on the Constitution Avenue and is flanked by the Prime Minister’s Secretariat to the south and President’s House and the Parliament Building to the north.

The Court Complex is comprised of Main Central Block (having Courtrooms) Judges’ Chambers Block and Administrative Blocks. The height of the Main Central Block is 167 feet above the ground. It is surrounded by Judges’ Chambers Block to the east and Administrative Block to the north and south. The Courtrooms are located in the Main Central Block. In all, there are 11 Courtrooms. Full Court References on different occasions, opening and closing of judicial years, retirement of a Judge, demise of a retired or a sitting Judge, etc., are held in this Courtroom. The other Courtrooms at the first floor have a capacity of housing a Bench of five to seven Judges. The Courtrooms at the ground floor are designed to house Benches with smaller number of Judges, usually two to three.

At the basement of this block is located the Court Auditorium with an elegant dais. It has the capacity of 1000 participants. Spacious halls adjoin the auditorium on its right and left as serving areas for the participants.
Five main Courtrooms including Court No. 1 — the Chief Justice’s Court are situated at the first floor while the remaining Courtrooms with comparatively less accommodation are located on the ground floor. The Court No. 1 is the biggest Courtroom. It has the capacity to house a Bench of 20 Judges and seating arrangements for 160 persons.
The Judges’ Chambers Block houses the chambers and offices of the Chief Justice, 20 Judges and the Registrar. The library containing a collection of 72,000 books, reports and journals is situated in the basement. This Block also contains an impressive Entrance Hall, a Conference Room and a Dining Hall (Judges’ Lounge). The two Administrative Blocks contain mainly the offices of the administrative officers and other members of the staff of the Court. The northern Block is occupied by the staff of the Supreme Court. The southern Block houses the offices of the Attorney General for Pakistan, the Advocates-General of the Provinces, the Pakistan Bar Council, the Supreme Court Bar Association, Bar Room, Secretariat, Law & Justice Commission of Pakistan, etc. Cafeteria is also situated on the ground floor of this Block.

The total covered area of the existing building is 3,39,861 S.ft. In Phase-II, some additional blocks with a covered area of 1,34,000 S.ft, are currently under construction. They are, in fact, extension of the administrative blocks towards the rear of the building, joining them with the Judges Chambers Block. With the completion of Phase-II, the total covered area of the complex will increase to 4,73,861 S.ft. Thus, the immediate needs of office accommodation for various offices of the Court, and other bodies housed in the premises will be met.

The building’s design was prepared by a famous Japanese firm, M/S Kenzo Tange Associates. The Pakistan Environmental Planning and Architectural Consultants (PEPAC) served as consultants and interior designers. The civil and electrical works of the building were carried out by M/S Moinsons (Pvt.) Ltd and M/S Siemens (Pvt.) Ltd respectively. The total cost of Phase-I was rupees 6,05.960 million. The estimated cost of Phase- II is rupees 1069.293 million.