This course explains the law of Pakistan, not US law. Rules that look the same elsewhere may be different.
Course · Law by country · Pakistan
Pakistani Law
The law of Pakistan for the people who deal with it: a common-law system with a written federal Constitution and an Islamic constitutional layer, where the colonial codes, the Constitution of 1973, provincial law, personal law and the precedents of the superior courts all matter, from the Constitution and the institutions to the courts, rights, contract, land records, family law, business, employment, tax and criminal justice.
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Pakistan is one of the largest countries in the world and one of the most interesting legal systems. It is a federal parliamentary republic with a written Constitution (1973) and a common-law inheritance from British India, but its law is not only English-derived: the Constitution makes Islam the State religion, creates a Federal Shariat Court and a Council of Islamic Ideology, and leaves personal law to religious communities, while the provinces, since the Eighteenth Amendment of 2010, make most of the rules on land, labour, health and education. This course gives a complete first map for the people who deal with Pakistani law, from the point of view of the foreigner and of the Pakistani reader who wants to understand how the system works. It starts with the history, the sources and the place of the Islamic provisions; then the Constitution, the President, the Prime Minister and Parliament; then federalism, the provinces and personal law; then the courts and the legal professions, including the changes of 2024 and 2025; then rights, citizenship and public law; then contract, land records, family law and inheritance; then companies, employment and tax; and finally criminal justice and the specialised fields. It ends with a capstone, in which you advise an invented Swedish founder in Lahore, using four working tools. It is a first course for the people who deal with Pakistani law, not a course to practise it.
The Curriculum
Foundations of Pakistani law: the legal inheritance of the subcontinent, independence and the constitutions, the sources and hierarchy of law, the common-law heritage, the place of Islam and international law→
History, the supreme Constitution, sources and hierarchy, the common-law method, the Islamic provisions and international law. Practice: Which Source, Which Rule Prevails and Spot the Mistake.
The Constitution and the institutions of the state: a federal parliamentary republic, the President, the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, the National Assembly and the Senate, how a law is made and amended, and elections→
The parliamentary republic, the President, the Prime Minister and Cabinet, the two Houses, bills and amendments, and elections. Practice: Which Institution, Who Decides and Spot the Mistake.
Federalism, the provinces and legal pluralism: the distribution of powers after the Eighteenth Amendment, the provincial governments, the Council of Common Interests, local government, the merged tribal districts and the personal and customary laws→
The federation and the provinces, the legislative lists, provincial governments, the Council of Common Interests, local government, the merged districts and personal law. Practice: Which Level, Which Law Applies and Spot the Mistake.
The judiciary and the legal professions: judicial independence and appointment, the court hierarchy, the highest courts and the Federal Constitutional Court, High Courts and writs, the Federal Shariat Court, tribunals, and advocates, prosecutors and notaries→
Judicial independence and appointment, the hierarchy of courts, the highest courts, High Court writs, the Shariat Court and tribunals, and the legal professions. Practice: Which Court, Who May and Spot the Mistake.
Rights, the Islamic constitutional institutions and public law: fundamental rights and their enforcement, religion and minorities, expression, assembly and privacy, the Federal Shariat Court and the Council of Islamic Ideology, citizenship and foreigners, administrative law and public accountability→
Fundamental rights, religion and minorities, expression and privacy, the Islamic bodies, citizenship and foreigners, administrative law and accountability. Practice: Which Right, What To Do and Spot the Mistake.
Civil law, property, family and civil procedure: the Contract Act 1872 and remedies, ownership and land records, registration and mutation, Muslim family law, inheritance and wills, and the Code of Civil Procedure→
Contract and remedies, land and title, family law, inheritance and wills, and civil procedure. Practice: Which Document, What Follows and Spot the Mistake.
Business, employment, tax and economic regulation: commercial and banking law, the Companies Act 2017 and the SECP, setting up and operating a business and foreign investment, provincial labour law and social security, and federal and provincial taxation→
Commercial and banking law, companies and the SECP, foreign investment, provincial labour law and social security, and taxation. Practice: Which Authority, What Follows and Spot the Mistake.
Criminal justice and specialised law: the Penal Code and criminal responsibility, qisas and diyat, procedure from the first information report to bail, trial, evidence and appeals, the Hudood laws, anti-terrorism and religion offences, and intellectual property, digital, environmental, maritime and international economic law→
The Penal Code, qisas and diyat, procedure and bail, trial and appeal, the special criminal laws, and intellectual property, digital, environmental and international economic law. Practice: Which Step, What Follows and Spot the Mistake.
Capstone: Capstone: Marta Lindqvist and the Lahore software company→
A software company in Lahore, a visa, a company form, an office bought on a revenue extract, a dismissal and a bounced cheque, and a nikah and a will. Choose the route, the form, the forum and the checks.
What It Covers
“You will be able to say, for any problem you may have in Pakistan, which rule applies (including whether federal law, provincial law or a personal law governs it and how the Constitution limits it), which court or authority decides it, which time limit runs and which professional you need.”
- Written for the foreigner and for the Pakistani reader, and honest about the system: it explains the common-law method, the Islamic constitutional layer and the provincial structure without treating Pakistan as simply English law or simply Islamic law, and it never suggests that all Pakistanis share the same family rules.
- Teaches the structure behind the rules, so that a student who knows how the Constitution, the federal and provincial division of powers, the court hierarchy and the personal laws fit together can read any new rule and compare Pakistani law with other common-law and plural systems.
- Four tools with invented facts: a Residence Status Finder, an Entity Chooser, a Land and Title Checker that shows why a revenue entry is not title, and a Court and Forum Finder, each showing how the answer changes when a fact does.
- Honest about limits: the constitutional amendments of 2024 and 2025 reshaped the highest courts, the cybercrime law was amended in 2025, tax and foreign exchange rules change often and the provinces differ, so the course teaches the structure and flags where to check the current text. It states no changing figures and is general education, not advice.
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Common questions
- Is Pakistani law just English law?
- No. English-derived codes and the common-law method shape contract, procedure and crime, but the Constitution of 1973, federal and provincial legislation, Muslim and non-Muslim personal laws and the Islamic constitutional provisions are all part of the system. The course explains where each applies.
- Is Islamic law applied everywhere in Pakistan?
- Not as a single code. Islam is the State religion and the Constitution requires laws to be brought into conformity with the Injunctions of Islam through the constitutional bodies, Muslim personal law governs the family matters of Muslims, and certain criminal provisions (qisas and diyat, Hudood) apply, but contract, company, tax and most other law is statute law, and non-Muslims have their own personal laws.
- Is it for people who want to practise Pakistani law?
- No. It is a first course for the people who deal with Pakistani law. Only an advocate enrolled with a Pakistani bar council can advise on Pakistani law in court, and the course says when you need one.
- Are the tools real data?
- No. The tools apply well-known rules in simplified form to invented facts. They show the structure of the answer and cannot decide a case.
- Does it give the current rule on every point?
- It teaches the provisions that have lasted. The structure of the highest courts, the cybercrime law, taxes, foreign exchange rules, minimum wages and provincial rules on land and labour are changing or differ by province, so check the current text for any real matter.
- How do I get the Certificate of Completion?
- Sign in, pass each module quiz and keep a course average of at least 75. The certificate is then issued and emailed to you automatically.
This course was written on 6 November 2026. To the best of our knowledge, it describes the law of Pakistan as it stood on that date. Laws change, and we may have missed or misunderstood something. If you notice a change, or have other information, please do not hesitate to contact us: we will review it and update the course. We do not claim to be the final source of the law.
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