 The academy was founded in March 2011 by the Chief Justice of Peshawar High Court, Justice Dost Muhammad Khan, after consultation with former director general (Hayat Ali Shah) and former dean of the faculty (Dr. Khursheed Iqbal).The governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa established the academy with an ordinance issued on 28 December 2011.On 17 January 2012, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly passed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Judicial Academy Act.