On July 27, 2021, the CCLS Team (SAHSOL, LUMS) attended an insightful webinar, titled ‘Commercial Courts in a Global Context’, held under the aegis of the China, Law & Development project at the University of Oxford. The panelists included an array of international experts, judges and lawyers, from Pakistan, the UK, Singapore, and China, who shared their insights on the establishment of commercial courts in the context of emerging macroeconomic and geostrategic trends including the rise of Asia and China. The keynote speakers for the conference were the Honourable Justice Mushir Alam, Senior Puisne Judge, Supreme Court of Pakistan; Honourable Justice Jawad Hassan, Commercial Judge, Lahore High Court Pakistan; Nudra B. Majeed, Barrister and Head of Chambers, NBM Law Chambers, Pakistan; Dr Michael Hwang, Former Chief Justice of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts; SUN Xiangzhuang, Judge of the PRC Supreme Court and the China International Commercial Court; YANG Enqian, Deputy Chief Judge of the Suzhou International Commercial Court, China; and Christopher Campbell-Holt, Registrar & Chief Executive, AIFC Court & International Arbitration Centre. The conference was moderated by Matthew Erie, an Associate Professor at the University of Oxford and the Principal Investigator of the China, Law & Development project, and co-organized by Pakistan-China Joint Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Faisalabad Industrial Estate Development & Management Company, Ease of Doing Business in Pakistan, and Center for International Investment and Commercial Arbitration.
One of the leading speakers, Justice Jawad Hassan laid out a comprehensive overview of the commercial courts in Pakistan. He stated that Pakistan has recently established commercial courts at the district level, which would have the exclusive jurisdiction to adjudicate domestic as well as international commercial disputes in an expeditious manner. These commercial courts have been inaugurated under the Punjab Commercial Courts Ordinance of 2021, not only as part of Pakistan’s Ease of Doing Business Reforms Agenda but also due to the increasing demand for a fool-proof mechanism of commercial arbitration. As pointed out by Justice Jawad, swift disposal of commercial cases and enforcement of contracts are instrumental for improving the commerce, trade, and ease-of-doing business indicators. He further added that improving the quality of judicial processes and resolving the commercial disputes in a timely and cost-effective manner has a direct bearing on economic development, foreign direct investment and job opportunities. Therefore, prompt resolution of commercial cases would help boost the confidence of investors in Pakistan and improve the business environment of the province. It would also improve Pakistan’s ‘Enforcing Contracts’ indicator on the World Bank Group’s flagship report on Doing Business, which evaluates the business regulations of different economies annually. Justice Jawad further lauded the provisions of the Ordinance, such as the introduction of a timeframe for the resolution of commercial disputes, specialized judges, e-filing mechanisms, and limited number of adjournments, that would help deliver justice in an adequate, speedy, and effective manner. In light of these arguments, he also mentioned Article 37(d) of the Constitution, which stipulates that it is the duty of the state to provide inexpensive and expeditious justice to the people. As such, he regarded the establishment of commercial courts as a step in the right direction which would bolster economic growth and rule of law in Pakistan.
Another esteemed panelist, Justice Mushir Alam, extolled the virtues of the Chinese leadership and its all-inclusive Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), that is firmly anchored in the values of shared prosperity, socioeconomic equality, peace and justice. He further recognized the remarkable achievements of the Supreme People's Court, the highest judicial organ of the People's Republic of China, that has not only introduced judicial reforms in 1999, 2005, 2009, 2014, and 2018, but also successfully accomplished 63 out of the 65 reform tasks. Consequently, these reforms have drastically enhanced the judicial capacity of judges, upheld high code of conduct, ensured district accountability of judges, and brought transparency in judicial processes. Drawing inspiration from China’s digitalization of the courts, Justice Mushir Alam, as the Chairman of National Judicial Automation Committee, has spearheaded efforts to form the National Judicial Automation Unit (NJAU), a dedicated unit to cater for the IT related requirements of the judiciary. While providing a roadmap for establishing special benches for BRI-related disputes, he hoped that this discussion would be fruitful in revamping Pakistan’s judicial apparatus to meet the emerging challenges triggered by the Belt and Road Initiative.
