Quick answer: Yes — Pakistani law is substantially free online now. The official Pakistan Code portal (pakistancode.gov.pk), launched by the Ministry of Law in August 2023, hosts nearly 1,000 digitised, updated federal statutes with Android and iOS apps and QR-code traceability — no subscription needed. Supreme Court and High Court judgments are published free on the courts’ own websites.
Pakistan Code: the official portal
The Pakistan Code (pakistancode.gov.pk) is the federal government’s digital repository of statutes. Launched by the Prime Minister on 8 August 2023, it started with 943 federal laws dating back to 1839 and has grown to nearly a thousand. Laws are proofread, watermarked, searchable by title, year, category and ministry/division, and the mobile apps let lawyers verify a citation on the spot via QR codes. In February 2024 the Law Ministry added Urdu translations of the most-viewed laws — the first official step toward plain-language access.
Free case law
For judgments rather than statutes, start with the courts themselves: the Supreme Court of Pakistan publishes its judgments online, and each of the five High Courts (Lahore, Sindh, Peshawar, Balochistan, Islamabad) maintains a judgment database and cause lists. The Federal Shariat Court publishes its decisions too. These are the primary sources — everything else is commentary.
What costs money
Be aware of the boundary: Pakistan Law Site (pakistanlawsite.com) and the classic PLD law digests are subscription products with deeper archives and headnotes, and many lawyers still pay for them. But for reading the bare text of any federal statute or recent reported judgment, the free official sources are enough.
Research tips
Always check the amendment status — a section number alone is not the law; the current amended text is. Cross-check any provision on the Pakistan Code portal before citing it, and prefer the court’s own website over aggregator blogs for judgments. For context on the whole system, see the complete Pakistan law guide.
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free website for Pakistani laws?
Yes — pakistancode.gov.pk, the Ministry of Law’s official portal with nearly 1,000 federal statutes, free with no login.
Where can I read Supreme Court judgments free?
On the Supreme Court of Pakistan’s own website and the five High Courts’ judgment databases — all free.
Is Pakistan Law Site free?
No — Pakistan Law Site is a paid subscription service. For free statute text, use the official Pakistan Code portal instead.
