History The need of judicial education in Pakistan was recognized as early as in 1958. The First (1958—59) recommended an intensive practical training through attachment. The Second Law Reforms Commissions (1967-70) recommended the establishment of a Judicial Academy for civil judges and magistrates. The Federal Judicial Academy (FJA) was established in 1988. In the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (then called the North West Frontier Province), the pre-service training was in the form of attachment and that, too, for a short period of two weeks. At the FJA, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa civil judges got their first pre-service training in 1993.
Since then, all the newly appointed civil judges received their six week pre-service training at the FJA. Sub rule 4 of Rule 9 of the Judicial Service Rules, 2001, made training compulsory for probationer judges.
A 2003 notification prescribes two weeks training for District & Sessions Judges/Zila Qazis; three weeks each for Additional District & Sessions Judges/Izafi Zila Qazis and Senior Civil Judges/ A’ala A’laqa Qazis appointed on promotion; and four to eight weeks each for Additional District & Sessions Judges/Izafi Zila Qazis and Civil Judges cum Judicial Magistrates/ A’laqa Qazis appointed on initial recruitment (N.B. the Arabic nomenclature is used in Malakand division only). Soon a trend of short courses, seminars and workshops at the district level, developed.
Many districts held organized such learning and training programmes. This new trend led to the idea of establishing our own judicial academy. In March 2008, a Judicial Training Centre was established by the then Chief Justice of the PHC. Very soon, efforts were initiated to convert the Centre to a full fledges Academy. In 2010 and 2011 the PHC made expedited its efforts to make the establishment of the academy a reality. Extensive correspondence and meetings were held with the provincial government.
Resultantly, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Judicial Academy was established in March 2011. In order to have a quick start, Dr Khurshid Iqbal, Additional District & Sessions Judge/Additional Member Inspection Team, was given the additional charge of Acting Director General. In May 2011, two-day orientation training was conducted for all 42 process servers/bailiffs of District Peshawar. After swearing in as the new Chief Justice of PHC in mid-November 2011, Mr. Justice Dost Muhammad Khan, put the establishment of the academy on top of his priority list.
In a meeting with the Provincial Law Minister on 8 December 2011, Hon’ble the Chief Justice categorically demanded that the provincial government shall establish the academy sooner rather than later. Pursuant to that direction, the Governor of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was pleased to establish the academy through an Ordinance, issued on 28 December 2011. On 17 January 2012, the Provincial Assembly passed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Judicial Academy Act.
