January 19, 2024: The Dispute Resolution Forum of IBA in Islamabad hosted the first public seminar on Commercial, Corporate and Regulatory Mediation on Jan. 19, 2024 at NIBAF, Islamabad. The event was attended by guests and participants from SECP, CLDP, FBR, PSX, federal judicial academy, state bank of Pakistan, Jazz, Zong, Pakistan bar council, ministry of Law, leading legal colleges and private legal practitioners.
The welcome address was given by Director CEE and Head of DRF, Kamran Bilgrami.
Zmarak khan, Senior Counsel at the Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP) at the United States Department of Commerce shared insights on his vision for the collaboration of CLDP with Pakistan and mainly with the Dispute Resolution Forum, IBA in which he mentioned the importance of collaboration and partnership and how these partnerships can strengthen the legal landscape of Pakistan.
Hon’ble Justice Jawad Hassan, Judge at the Lahore High Court, addressed the gathering in the opening Keynote speech and highlighted the significance of mediation, emphasizing its role in “sharing the burden of judicial matters and resolving disputes amicably.” Previously in November 2023, Justice Jawad Hassan authored a landmark judgment focusing on the “doctrine of expeditious resolution” of corporate disputes through mediation.
The event included panel discussions between esteemed panelists.
The first panel discussion was on the National Judicial imperative and The Role of Mediation. The panelists included Mr. Justice Jawad Hassan, Judge Lahore High Court, Zmarak Khan, Senior Counsel at the United States Department of Commerce, Office of the General Counsel’s Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP). Usama Malik, Director General, Legal Education, Pakistan Bar Council, Malik Javid Iqbal Wains, Additional Attorney General for Pakistan, Saima Kamila Khan, Head of Legal, Jazz. The session was Moderated by Syed Bulent Sohail, member, IBA DRF.
The second panel discussion was on Legal Framework on Mediation. The panelists included Mr. Justice MianGul Hassan Aurangzeb, Judge Islamabad High Court, Ms. Wajeeha khan, deputy commissioner, Land revenue, Federal Board of Revenue, Mr. Raja Naeem Akbar, Ministry of Law and Justice, Mr. Muhammad Amir Munir, Additional Sessions Judge, Federal Judicial Academy, Mr. Bashir Khetran, Joint Secretary, Establishment Division, Dr. Mobeen Imran Shah, Senior Manager Legal, Zong. The session was Moderated by Muzzafar Ahmed Mirza, Chief Prosecutor / Executive Director Legal Affairs Division, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan.
As a final conclusion, Hon’ble Justice MianGul Hassan Aurangzeb addressed the audience through a closing keynote speech regarding the importance of ADR, mediation and the role that the legal fraternity can play in ensuring amicable justice.
The event was ended by thank you notes from Raza Chinoy, Islamabad Alumni President, Riaz Chunara MD NIBAF.
