Pakistan has potential to become international arbitration hub: LHC judge

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is well-positioned to emerge as a preferred seat of international arbitration be­­cause of substantial cost benefits and prevailing geopolitical goodwill, said Justice Jawad Hassan of the Lahore High Court’s Rawalpindi bench. “Pakistan is making good progress on infrastructure and laws on arbitration and mediation as there is a large demand for commercial arbitration and mediation,” Justice Hassan said while speaking at a seminar titled “Can Pakistan Become a Seat of International Dispute Resolution? ” at the Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI). Justice Hassan added that the pending judgement in the Star Hydro case would set the stage for further progress in this regard.

Former Punjab advocate general Asma Hamid, Barrister Salahuddin Ahmed of MCA Law Associates, Brig (retd) Raja Shozab Majeed, Deputy Director and Chair of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) Pakistan, Feisal Naqvi of BNR, Barrister Mian Sheraz Javed, Chair of CIArb, and eminent international lawyer Ahmer Bilal Soofi participated in the discussion. Country’s arbitration capacity expands as case law, mediators grow Senior jurists, advocates and arbitration specialists brainstormed on whether Pakistan could establish itself as a venue for international arbitration and mediation. A broad consensus emerged that while the potential exists, realising this vision would require sustained, decade-long strategic collaboration across the legal and institutional sectors. The panel was unanimous that Pakistan had a genuine opportunity to become an international arbitration hub, but only through sustained legal and institutional reforms and capacity-building over the coming decade. Building the arbitration ecosystem It was noted that as Pakistan expanded trade and attracted…