LAHORE: Justice Muhammad Yawar Ali on Wednesday took oath as the 46th Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court at a ceremony held at Governor’s House.
Governor Malik Muhammad Rafique Rajwana administered the oath. Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Punjab Assembly speaker, judges of the Lahore High Court, provincial ministers, the Pakistan Bar Council vice chairman, presidents and office bearers of Lahore High Court Bar Association and Lahore Bar Association, and provincial and federal law officers were present at the ceremony.
Chief Justice Muhammad Yawar Ali had passed his O and A level exams from Aitchison College, Lahore. He got his bachelor’s degree from Punjab University and LL.B (Honours) from Leeds University, UK. Then, he was recognised as Barrister-at-Law by the Middle Temple University, UK. He was enrolled as an advocate of lower courts in 1980, enrolled as an advocate of the High Court in the same year, and later as an advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 1986.
Chief Justice Ali has lectured at the Punjab University Law College, Lahore, as a visiting lecturer during earlier years of practice. He conducted several cases of public importance before the High Court, the Supreme Appellate Court and the Supreme Court of Pakistan, while representing various clients including WAPDA, PIA, Pakistan Railways, National Bank of Pakistan, Muslim Commercial Bank Limited and the Federal Government.
Before elevation as LHC judge, Justice Muhammad Yawar Ali served as federal counsel for government of Pakistan, additional advocate general for government of the Punjab from March 26, 1995 to August 1, 1997. He also served as the deputy attorney general for Pakistan from August 1, 1997, to June 7, 2006, and again from August 10, 2007, to February 11, 2008.
As LHC judge he decided many cases reported in legal journals like Pakistan Legal Decision (PL:D) 1996 S.C 152; PLD 1996 S.C 274 1996; MLD 01. 1996; PLC (CS) 678; PLD 1995 SC 546; 1996 SCMR 1510; 1999 SCMR 2744; 2005 SCMR 445; and 2008 SCMR 1377.
He also got a book published in 1999 by the title, ‘The effect of Revolutions on the Legal Order within States’.
Chief Justice Yawar Ali has a close association with former Supreme Court judge Khalilur Rehman Ramday, who is the son-in-law of former Chief Justice of Pakistan Late Yaqoob Ali Khan.
Published in Daily Times, February 8th2018.