Thursday, October 27, 2016
The Shaikh Ahmad Hassan School of Law (SAHSOL) at LUMS organised a seminar titled “Arbitration, its Scope and Challenges in Pakistan” on October 24, 2016 at the Asifa-Irfan Moot Court Room. Prof. Khawar Qureshi QC, Barrister at Law and member of Serle Court Chambers in London and McNair Chambers in Qatar, Justice (Retd.) Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, former Chief Justice of Pakistan, and Mr. Jawad Hassan, Partner at Hassan, Qureshi and Mamdot (HQM) addressed the merits of arbitration as a means of dispute resolution amongst international businesses as well as the specific challenges faced by introducing arbitration into the legal system of Pakistan.
In his welcome address, Prof. Dr. Martin Lau, Dean of SAHSOL, and Barrister at Law and member of Essex Court Chambers in London, emphasized the importance of research, education and training in order to promote commercial arbitration in Pakistan and the ambition of the Law School to establish a Centre of Arbitration Law and Practice in the near future. Prof. Khawar Qureshi analysed the comparative merits of commercial arbitration, and in doing so highlighted in particular the challenges and tensions in the world of international commercial arbitration. He stressed the need for diversity and representation from the South. Later on, Mr. Justice (Retd.) Jillani made particular mention of the relationship between the adjudication of disputes by courts and by way of private dispute resolution. Mr. Jawad Hassan offered an in-depth review and analysis of the case-law surrounding the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards in Pakistan, an area where he and his firm have represented a number of parties. All speakers expressed their support for any plan to establish an academic centre at LUMS for the study of and training in the law and practice of international arbitration. A lively question and answer session concluded the event as law students discussed their concerns and questioned the role of international commercial arbitration with the respected panel.
In his concluding remarks, Prof. Lau stressed that SAHSOL regarded this seminar as a starting point for a number arbitration related activities at the Law School, including a new course on “The Law of International Commercial Arbitration” which will be offered as part of the BA-LL.B degree programme in the Spring Semester of the current academic year. Mr Jawad Hassan’s paper will be published by the end of 2016 in volume 3 of the LUMS Law Journal, available at the SAHSOL website.
