Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa was born on December 21, 1954 at Dera Ghazi Khan. He passed his Matriculation Examination in the year 1969 from the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Multan winning the National Talent Scholarship. As a student of Government College, Lahore he passed his Intermediate Examination in the year 1971 from the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Lahore securing first position in the Board and winning the National Talent Scholarship. Again as a student of Government College, Lahore he passed his B.A. Examination in the year 1973 from the University of the Punjab securing first position in the University and winning the National Talent Scholarship.

He secured his M.A. degree in English Language and Literature from the University of the Punjab in the year 1975. After proceeding to the United Kingdom in the year 1976 for his legal education he completed his Law Tripos, Part I, from Queens' College, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom in the year 1977 and then he obtained his LL.M. degree from University of Cambridge, United Kingdom in the year 1978 with specialization in Public International Law in the subjects of the Law of Peace, the Law of War and Armed Conflict, the Law of International Institutions and the Law of Civil Liberties.

He was called to the Bar on July 26, 1979 at the Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, London, United Kingdom and was conferred the degree of Utter Barrister. Justice Khosa was enrolled as an Advocate of the Lahore High Court on November 13, 1979 and later as an Advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan on September 12, 1985. As an Advocate Supreme Court he handled thousands of cases of constitutional, criminal, civil, service, revenue and election laws in the superior courts of Pakistan. Over 600 cases conducted by him had been reported in various Law Reports. He also served as a Member of the Library Committee and as a Member of the Executive Committee of the Lahore High Court Bar Association, Lahore for some time.

During his legal practice Justice Khosa had authored two books titled 'Heeding the Constitution' (1995) and 'Constitutional Apologues' (1997). He had also edited and compiled 'The Constitution of Pakistan, 1973' with all amendments upto date (1989). He had regularly been writing articles on various aspects of the Constitution of Pakistan and the same had frequently been published in PLD, PLJ and all the major English newspapers of the country. Justice Khosa belongs to a well-educated, landed, well-known and well-placed family of the Punjab.

 

His late father Sardar Faiz Muhammad Khan Khosa, who was awarded the Tehrik-e-Pakistan Gold Medal by the Punjab Government for having worked closely with the Quaid-e-Azam in the struggle for Independence, was an Advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan who had also served as an elected member of the Pakistan Bar Council. Justice Khosa is son-in-law of Justice (Retired) Dr. Syed Nasim Hasan Shah who served the superior judiciary of Pakistan for over twenty-six years and retired as Chief Justice of Pakistan in the year 1994.

 

The intellectual credentials of Justice Khosa equally match his academic record. He had served as a part-time lecturer of Constitutional Law at the University Law College, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, the Punjab University Law College, Lahore, the Punjab Law College, Lahore and the Pakistan College of Law, Lahore. He was also a visiting lecturer of Constitutional Law at the Civil Services Academy, Lahore, National Institute of Public Administration (NIPA), Lahore, National Police Academy, Islamabad, Staff Training Institute of the Services and General Administration Department of the Government of the Punjab, Training Course for Civil Judges conducted by the Lahore High Court, Lahore and the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). He had also served as the Chief Editor of Key Law Reports (KLR).

 

His publications on the constitutional law of Pakistan were read and referred to with seriousness and his legal services had, on many occasions, been usefully utilized by the Supreme Court of Pakistan and the Lahore High Court when he was called upon to assist the Courts as amicus curiae in different important cases. He is serving as a member of the Rhodes Scholarship Selection Committee for Pakistan since 2004. He was appointed as a member of the Board of Management of the Punjab Judicial Academy, Lahore in 2009. Justice Khosa has ample national and international exposure. As a lawyer and then as a Judge he has participated and represented Pakistan in various conferences, seminars and symposia held in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Canada, Tanzania, United Kingdom, Mauritius and Malaysia.

 

He is a founding member of the SAARCLAW. He was conferred Fellowship of the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute, Halifax, Canada in 2006 and in 2008 he was elected a member of the Board of Directors of the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute, Halifax, Canada. Barrister Asif Saeed Khan Khosa had been elevated to the Bench and appointed as a Judge of the Lahore High Court, Lahore with effect from May 21, 1998 and he served in that capacity for the next about twelve years.

 

He remained a member of the Administration Committee of the Lahore High Court, Lahore and was the Administrative Judge for Sessions/Criminal causes, matters relating to statistics of the High Court, Information Technology and Court Automation Wing, Access to Justice Programme, training of judicial officers and officials of Court Establishment and Powers Magisterial and Civil. He was also the Administrative Judge for Special Courts (Customs, Taxation and Anti-smuggling), Special Judges (Central) and Special Courts (Control of Narcotic Substances). Justice Khosa wrote his third book 'Judging with Passion' in the year 2008.