Islamabad, February 02, 2023 (PPI-OT):Hon’ble Mr. Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan, Judge Supreme Court of Pakistan chaired the second meeting of ADR Committee held in the conference room of the Supreme Court Building at Islamabad. The Committee overviewed the progress made by the provinces and Islamabad Capital Territory and emphasized upon speedy implementation of ADR legal frame work.
The ADR Committee has been constituted by the Hon’ble Mr. Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Chief Justice of Pakistan upon the initiative of Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan for institutionalizing the ADR mechanism in the country. Further, the Committee has been mandated to ensure concerted and coordinated efforts at the national level to implement ADR laws across the country.
The members of the Committee include Hon’ble Mr. Justice Mirza Viqas Rauf, Judge Lahore High Court, Hon’ble Mr. Justice Adnan Iqbal Chaudhry, Judge High Court of Sindh, Hon’ble Mr. Justice Muhammad Ijaz Swati, Judge High Court of Balochistan represented the Hon’ble Member from Balochistan, Hon’ble Mr. Justice Hashim Khan Kakkar, Judge High Court of Balochistan and Hon’ble Mr. Justice Babar Sattar, Judge Islamabad High Court. The Secretary, Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan is the Secretary of the ADR Committee.
Representative of the Federal and Provincial Law and Home departments, Federal and Provincial Judicial Academies also attended the meeting the representative of the Law Department of Punjab informed the Committee that the ADR law has been enforced to the extent of Lahore as a pilot project. The Chair showed concern and urged for implementation of same across the Province at the earliest.
Furthermore, it was informed by the representative that considerable progress has been made in the context of establishment of accreditation authority in the Province. Moreover, at the Lahore High Court steps have been taken to establish a dedicated directorate for monitoring data of ADR cases. The High Court of Sindh has notified three mediation centers at Karachi, Hyderabad and Sukkur.
The training for mediators and judges has also been initiated. Moreover, for public awareness on ADR law various initiatives have been taken which were appreciated by the Hon’ble Chair. The Home Department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa also shared its progress stating that in 20 districts saliseen have been notified and in the remaining districts will be notified soon.
It was further shared that a number of developments were also reported for Islamabad Capital Territory including formulation of ADR Center Accreditation and Mediation Accreditation (Eligibility) Rules by the Islamabad High Court and Ministry of Law and Justice.
The Province of Balochistan also shared its progress stating that that the ADR law has been formulated which shall be soon notified. The Director General Federal Judicial Academy also gave briefing on the Training Manual prepared for imparting training to the judges, lawyers and mediators. The ADR Committee has emphasized that a unified mechanism be devised for monitoring and collection of data on ADR cases. The Committee also stressed on advocacy campaign for raising public awareness on ADR legal framework in Pakistan.
For more information, contact:
Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan
Government of Pakistan
Supreme Court of Pakistan Building,
Constitution Avenue, Islamabad, Pakistan
Phone: +92-51-9220486
Cell: +92-313-5707079
Fax: +92-51-9214797
Website: http://ljcp.gov.pk