Daily Times

LAHORE: Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah has said that collaboration between Judiciary and private sector could be a game changer. “Stay culture should be discouraged as it is hitting the economy hard. Nobody else can understand the value of time and money better than the business community; therefore, business disputes should be resolved instead of wasting time,” said the chief justice during the inauguration ceremony of Mediation Centre at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Saturday.

Justice Muhammad Yawar Ali, Justice Muhammad Anwaarul Haq, Justice Sardar Muhammad Shamim Ahmad Khan, Justice Mamoon Rashid Sheikh and Justice Shujaat Ali Khan as well as LHC Registrar Syed Khurshid Anwar Rizvi, Member Inspection Team Muhammad Akmal Khan and Principal Secretary to Chief Justice Muhammad Shafi also graced the occasion.

The chief justice said, “We have to find out new ways for dispute resolution to save precious time and money.” He said that concept of mediation was being promoted rapidly and the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry had taken an important initiative through establishing the mediation centre. He invited the LCCI to form a focal committee that should be integrated with the system of the LHC through information technology.

He informed the LCCI members that for the first time in the history, an Alternate Dispute Resolution Centre was being established at the District Court in collaboration with the World Bank that would be inaugurated soon. He said that Punjab Judicial Academy was ready to extend cooperation to the LCCI for conducting courses regarding mediation.

He said that courts have already the burden of criminal cases; therefore, contractual issues should be resolved through mediation. “Concept of neutral evaluation and pre-litigation assessment is gaining grounds throughout the world. It would be better if businessmen first come to the LCCI Mediation Centre for pre-litigation assessment,” Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah added.

Speaking on the occasion, LCCI President Abdul Basit said that no country could achieve the goal of economic development without the rule of law. He said that the LCCI had established the Mediation Centre for out-of-court settlements of the business disputes. He thanked the chief justice for patronising the LCCI Mediation Centre, saying that support of judiciary would make the centre effective. He said that legal powers would help the LCCI Mediation Centre to resolve business disputes at early stages that would certainly reduce the burden on courts.

In his address, LCCI Vice President Muhammad Nasir Hameed Khan said that the LCCI was not only putting in its best efforts for trust building between the government and the private sector but was also supplementing the government’s efforts aimed at economic revival of the country. He said that collaboration between judiciary and the private sector would go a long way.

Later, the chief justice inaugurated the LCCI Mediation Centre.

Former LCCI presidents Mian Anjum Nisar, Mian Misbahur Rehman, Mian Muzaffar Ali, Sohail Lashari, Zafar Iqbal Chaudhry; senior vice presidents Irfan Iqbal Sheikh Mian Nauman Kabir and executive committee members Mian Abdul Razzaq, Mian Muhammad Nawaz, Zeeshan Khalil, Rehman Aziz Chan, Shahid Nazir, Mudassar Masood Chaudhry, Khamis Saeeed Butt, Sheikh Muhammad Ibram were also present among others.