The law serves as a sword and as a shield,

with Article 4 of the Constitution as the source and sanctuary of both.

Article 4 of the Constitution is more than a legal doctrine — it is the guiding principle for our law practice, ARTICLE FOUR. It serves as the constitutional compass that directs our advocacy, grounded in the conviction that rights are not just inscribed but legally guaranteed, enforced and protected.

From Principle to Practice: How Article 4 of the Constitution shapes our practice?

Due process

Natural justice

Fairness

Transparency

Rule of law

Procedural propriety

Article 4 defines the very architecture of justice — built upon the foundational principles of due process, natural justice, fairness, rule of law, transparency and procedural propriety.

And at ARTICLE FOUR, we champion rights through the lens of Article 4 of the Constitution.

Why Article 4 of the Constitution matters?

“Article 4 of the Constitution is our due process clause. Protection of law or to be treated in accordance with law carries in it a basket of legal principles. Therefore, the principles of natural justice, fairness, procedural propriety, procedural due process, reasonableness, transparency, openness, participation, inclusiveness are all embedded in Article 4, which is, therefore, a citadel of administrative and judicial governance in the country. ... Article 4 is a constitutional reminder especially for the Government and its functionaries to treat everyone in accordance with law."

PLD 2010 Lahore 332

"Article 4 of our Constitution is a robust and dynamic amalgam of the cardinal principle of natural justice, procedural fairness and procedural propriety of the English Jurisprudence and Procedural Due process of the American jurisprudence. Our Constitution has boldly recognised this right to be an in alienable right of every citizen or of any other person for the time being in Pakistan.”

2010 PLC (C.S.) 961 [Lahore]

“Our constitutional democracy rests on the fundamental principle of rule of law. Article 4 of the Constitution is its principal manifestation. … This means that every citizen and every person for the time being in Pakistan enjoys the protection of laws of the land. These laws and the Constitution are like a protective shield guarding the life, liberty, reputation, body and property of the persons within Pakistan. Any action adverse to the rights of a person, must, therefore, be through the mechanism or in accordance with the very laws which protect the said persons."

2012 CLC 764 [Lahore]

At ARTICLE FOUR, we transform these constitutional principles foreshadowed above from abstract ideals into purposeful, dynamic and uncompromising advocacy.

The ARTICLE FOUR Approach