Justice (Rtd.) Syed Manzoor Hussain Gilani was enrolled as an Advocate of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir High Court in September, 1977 and as Advocate of the Supreme Court of AJ&K in 1979. He was appointed Advocate-General for AJ&K in March 1986 and resigned from office in March, 1990. He was elevated as permanent Judge of the High Court of AJ&K on May 05, 1991 and appointed as the Chief Justice of the High Court of AJ&K on May 03, 2001. He was elevated as permanent Judge of the Supreme Court of AJ&K on August 20, 2004 and retired as the Acting Chief Justice of Azad Jammu and Kashmir on May 11, 2010. He has written a number of books on the AJ&K dispute and is considered an expert on the region.