IHC Research Centre


Intro / Info

Introduction, Scope, Organogram, Contacts

Online Research Query

An online system to resolve your query.

Case Law Bulletin

IHC Case Law Bulletin (the Bulletin) is a fortnightly edition of the judgments

FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions regarding Research Centre


 MESSAGE OF HON'BLE CHIEF JUSTICE:
Legal research is indispensable for lawyers, judges, and scholars. Diligent legal inquiry not only safeguards administration of justice and strengthens arguments, but also ensures that the law evolves gradually.

Unlike olden days, legal research today has transformed into a multi-disciplinary, technology-driven practice. It now integrates empirical methods, artificial intelligence, and cross-disciplinary knowledge for the purpose of addressing increasingly complex legal, social, and global challenges.

The Islamabad High Court has revived its Research Centre, heralding a new era of intellectual inquiry and institutional growth.

The Centre is expected to play an active role in providing comprehensive research support to the Hon’ble Judges of this Court. By furnishing well researched analyses through its dedicated team of researchers, the Centre will contribute adequately to the advancement of domestic jurisprudence.

 INTRODUCTION:
Legal research constitutes the cornerstone of the legal profession, underpinning its very foundation. Legal Research Centre was established in the Islamabad High Court back in 2022. Very recently, in January 2026, the Centre has been revived under vision and commitment of the Hon’ble Chief Justice Mr. Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar.

The Research Centre responds to research -related queries assigned by the Hon’ble Judges of the Islamabad High Court. At present, the Centre is also contributing by compiling the Islamabad High Court’s quarterly case law updates, which include judgments authored by Hon’ble Judges of the Court that highlight significant legal principles.

The Centre is currently at a nascent stage, but it is steadily evolving and in the years ahead, it will become a vibrant hub of legal research and innovation, dedicated to providing valuable assistance to the Hon’ble Judges of the Islamabad High Court.

 ABOUT RC:
Islamabad High Court has already taken steps to digitize its operations including launching a digital application for case management and online grievance redressal mechanisms. The proposed QRM aligns with these initiatives, aiming to further enhance the court's efficiency and transparency.

The eQuery Referral/Response Mechanism (QRM) is developed by the I.T Department of this Hon'ble Court to provide an easy access of the Hon'ble Courts to the Research Centre and vice versa. The purpose of the system is to have a mechanism for every query and response which will not only provide easy access to all the Hon'ble Courts but would also serve as a central research repository/data hub.

 OBJECTIVE:
The QRM will serve as a centralized digital platform for easy access to all the Hon'ble Courts to refer queries to the Research Centre, promoting transparency, accountability, and efficient use of resources. This mechanism would play a pivotal role in terms of quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the Research Centre. It goes without saying that the system will also be instrumental for e-Governance, reducing the manual paper use.

 KEY FEATURES:

  •  Centralized Query Management:The system will enable the Hon'ble Courts to refer queries electronically to the Research Centre, where the queries shall be allocated to Research Associates, Law Clerks for study, research and report;

  •  Automated Response Generation: Once the centralized digital platform is fully functional with maximum research data on the queries, the system would be able to generate automatic reports, including electronic results, for perusal by Hon'ble Judges;

  •  Research Repository: The QRM will serve as a Central Research Repository/Data Hub, providing easy access to all Hon'ble Courts;

  •  Performance Evaluation: The system will generate automatic reports to evaluate the overall performance of the Research Center and the individual Researcher.

 STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE (SOPs) FOR eQUERY REFERRAL / RESPONSE MECHANISM:
The query generated by a Court will be sent to the Research Centre either in writing manually or through QRM;
The query/question will be addressed to the Additional Registrar (Research)/ Supervisory Officer who shall assign it to any of the Research Associates/Judicial Assistants/Law Clerks for research, study and report, within stipulated period of time. In case, the assigned Officer is on leave or busy in some urgent/direction work assigned to him or is away from the Centre for any other reason, the query may be re-allocated to any other Research Associate/Judicial Assistant/Law Clerk.

 CONTACTS:

SR # Designation Phone ext
1 Research Centre (IHCRC) 051-9198420
420
2 Supervisor / Incharge 051-0000000
-
3 Judicial Assistant (JA) 051-0000000
000
4 Law Clerks (LC) -
000

 MAILING ADDRESS:
Supervisor,
Research Centre,
Islamabad High Court
Constitution Avenue, G-5, Islamabad, Pakistan.
Email: research@ihc.gov.pk