Disputes settlement through arbitration: efforts being made to enforce laws: CJ

Chief Justice of Pakistan Mr Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry has said that the national judicial policy-making committee, of which he is the chairman, is making all-out efforts to enforce laws relating to the settlement of disputes through arbitration, conciliation or mediation.
He was delivering a keynote address at the third and final session of a conference on "Arbitration privatisation of justice" organised by Mandiwalla and Zafar here on Tuesday.
He said that a committee has been constituted, headed by a judge of the Supreme Court and comprising four other judges, one each from the provincial high courts, to prepare a module for training of judicial officers.
He said that this committee has been functional and is taking steps to impart training, initially to master trainers who will later on impart such training to others; for which necessary changes are also being brought in the syllabi, taught to the judicial officers at the Federal Judicial Academy, Islamabad.
Iftikhar said that through an amendment to the code of Civil Procedure, a new Section 89-a has been added for the use of ADR methods, besides the Small Claims and Minor Offences Courts Ordinance also provides for court controlled ADR.
He said that useful and beneficiary law for the society is fairly comprehensive in institutionalising the ADR at the grassroots level.
He said that enactment of appropriate laws and their implementation for expeditious and economical resolution of disputes would go a long way in dispensing justice, particularly in the area of commerce, trade and finance.
"Use of various methods of ADR, therefore, would help in getting quick resolution of disputes, but the judiciary should play supervisory role," he added.
Earlier during the first and second sessions of the conference, federal Privatisation and Investment Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh in his inaugural address said that setting up of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism, such as the idea of an Arbitration Centre, was a welcome step and would contribute towards investors' confidence.
He urged that the conference should identify practical and reasonable options for implementation, while follow-up would be the key to the success of this concept.
In his keynote speech at the first session, Senator S.M. Zafar said that settling of disputes out of court or setting up of alternative dispute resolution mechanism is gaining ground in the region.
He cited China, Singapore and India as countries where Arbitration Centres were working to resolve disputes out of court. "Change in the mindset is key to the concept of providing alternative dispute resolution mechanism to aid businesses and investments in the country," he argued.
Senator Professor Khurshid Ahmed said that Islamic system of justice fully supported the idea of mediation and arbitration before recourse to dispute resolution.
In fact, he said, in the era of Hazrat Omer Farooq, judges were advised by the caliph to first apply themselves to mediate and resolve the issue at hand before formal trial and dispute resolution.
Professor Khurshid, however, emphasised that introduction of alternative dispute resolution mechanism is only one, albeit crucial, step towards delivery of justice and the overall reform of judicial system was key to ensure a system of delivery of justice.
Professor Kamran Naqi Khan of Hamdard University said that the tools of law, education and social marketing have been found to be the key to improve investment climate and business in countries.
Central Board of Revenue (CBR) Chairman Abdullah Yusuf highlighted the government's revolutionary steps in addressing the problem of litigation, disputes and appeals relating to the areas of income tax with a view to improve service to the taxpayers as customers.
He said that according to the result of a case study, the government could recover only 5 percent of the amount in dispute at the end of litigation indicating the futility of the entire effort consuming more resources than benefits.
He said his department undertook screening of appeals on merit and dealt with the entire load of appeals during the previous year. In addition, he said that task forces have been created to review appeals on merit, laws were amended to incorporate genuine demands recurring in various appeals and the Supreme Court was requested to set up a Special Bench to take up pending issues dealing with the department.
The panel comprising former justices Fazal Karim, S. Ahmed Sarwana and Nighat Awan, OBE, commented that the concept of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) has undergone change internationally and the emphasis is placed not only on alternative dispute resolution, but on efficient dispute resolution as well.
Chairing the second session, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan Chairman Dr Tariq Hassan said that while the ADR and arbitration is an internationally accepted phenomenon and is required in context of Pakistan, the main thrust of the discussion should be on how best to implement that in Pakistan.
He said that existing laws on arbitration needed to be revamped in the light of regional and international best practices and advancements.
The second session included former justice Khalil-ur-Rehman, Ahmed Kuli Khan Khattak, Aptma Chairman, while panelists included Justice Syed Zahid Hussain, Lahore High Court, Zafar Iqbal, Regional Director, Clyde & Co, UK and MNA Kashmala Altaf.
World Bank Representative Peter R. Kyle said that the bank has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Government of Pakistan to finance an ADR Centre as it had full political support of the government.
Mr Justice Tassaduq Jilani, judge of the Supreme Court and Attorney General of Pakistan Makhdoom Ali Khan and Syed Ali Zafar also addressed the concluding session and highlighted the benefits of the ADR mechanism which had been successfully implemented in various countries.