zafar kalanauri

Since the mid 1980s there has been a growing international awareness of the benefits of mediation as a dispute resolution technique. In the US, research by Stipanowich has documented the rise of mediation, which was first taken seriously by the US construction industry.  Apparently the Army Corps of Engineers pioneered the process in order to reduce the high costs of litigation.
Many construction disputes can include complex issues and numerous claims by separate parties. Mediation is well suited to and widely used by the construction industry to resolve these types of disputes.  Overall, mediation in construction disputes has evolved significantly, with continued efforts to improve accessibility, efficiency, and enforceability, making it a preferred choice for many in the construction industry globally.

This paper addresses the impact that the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic situation is having upon the ability for courts and tribunals to conduct hearings, and the measures that may be deployed in order to ensure that disputes continue to be dealt with fairly, effectively and as expeditiously as possible. The ongoing situation has compelled both courts and arbitral tribunals to hold virtual hearings, to a far greater extent than has ever been experienced before. As a result, the general level of exposure to E-filing of documents and videoconferencing technology will lead to a greater level of understanding of and competence in the use of such technology amongst judges, counsel and parties. Whilst we must all hope that the impact of COVID-19 on the vulnerable, elderly as well as businesses all over the world is minimised, it seems inevitable that there will be greater use of video hearings and the online aspects of dispute resolution not just during the course of the stringent 'lockdown' situation currently being experienced around the world but also, possibly, thereafter.

My article  titled  " The Singapore Mediation Convention, 2019" explains the the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting From Mediation (“Singapore Convention”).  the paper on the subject makes a case for the use of mediation by States in the context of Investor-State conflict management. On 7 August forty-six Countries, including China and the US, signed the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting From Mediation (“Singapore Convention”).

The Qanun-e-Shahadat prescribes procedure and methods with regard to recording of
evidence of parties for the purpose of proving facts and documents.
If we carefully examine the provision of Evidence Act, 1872 and Qanun-e-Shahadat
Order we find that except with few exceptions the Qanun-e-Shahadat Order is
subjectively the same as of Evidence Act with exception of Article 3, Article 4 to 6,
addition of Article 44 and addition of a proviso to Article 42. Articles 163 to 166 were
also added in the new law. It is said that almost all the provisions of the Evidence Act,
1872 with a few amendments have been kept intact because most of the provisions of
Evidence Act, 1872 were not repugnant to Islamic principles of law.

Double jeopardy protects people from being tried for the same crime twice in a
court of law. The rule against double jeopardy is a centuries old common law
principle, which bars repeated criminal prosecution for the same offence. The rule
plays a vital role for the protection of integrity of the criminal justice system
including precious human rights of the accused persons. The existence of the rule
is very essential as far a criminal justice administration is concerned irrespective
of the nature of the system. The criminal justice system operates on the basis of
certain values within which it admits no compromise. The double jeopardy
principle is one such value protected by the system. It is a procedural safeguard,
which bars a second trial then an accused person is either convicted or acquitted
after a full-fledged trial by a court of competent jurisdiction. The rule against
double jeopardy originally flows from the maxim “nemo debet bis vexari pro uno
et eadem causa” which means that no person shall be vexed twice for the same
cause. The term “double jeopardy” expresses the idea of a person being put in
peril of conviction more than once for the same offence1.The core rule includes
the old pleas in bar of jurisdiction, namely autrefois acquit and autrefois convict2.
These two doctrines are aimed to protect criminal defendants from the tedium and trauma of re-litigation3. When a criminal charge has been adjudicated by a
competent court, that is final irrespective of the matter whether it takes the form
of an acquittal or a conviction, and it may be pleaded in bar of a further
prosecution when it is for the same offence4. It is regarded as one of the most
important fundamental as well as the human right against the repeated state
prosecution for the same offence.
Rule of double jeopardy is a legal principle accepted by almost all jurisdictions of
the world, which states that a person who has once been charged and put to trial
and a verdict has been announced concerning his innocence in that charge, he
shall not be again charged or tried for the same offence on the same facts and
same evidence.
The wisdom behind this principle of law is that human dignity is to be respected and on the plea of suspicion the earlier exercise of formal charge and trial is not to be undone. Further, if this practice is allowed there will be no end to litigation and none will be secure from the jeopardy or danger.

Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have committed crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other crimes, and moral support for victims. The primary institutions of the criminal justice system are the police, prosecution and defence lawyers, the courts and prisons.

The basic aim of a legal system of a country is to impose duty to respect the legal rights conferred upon the members of the society. The person making a breach of that duty is said to have done the wrongful act. On the basis of nature and gravity of such wrongful acts, those are separated under two categories: Public Wrong and Private Wrong. Public wrong is deemed to be committed against the society and the Private wrong, against individuals. The gravity of the former is greater than that of the latter. The first category is termed under the Law as 'crime' governed by the Criminal Laws (Substantive and Procedural) and the second category, as 'civil wrong' governed by the Civil Laws. Under the Criminal Law the action is taken by the state in its name and the accused has to pay fine to the State's fund and is punished by imprisonment or sentenced to death and in such cases the proceeding is started either by lodging the FIR or by lodging complaints (in case of Complaint cases) as provided by the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973. In case of civil wrong, the remedy is the compensation either liquidated or unliquidated damages; the remedial measures ensured to the people is based on the Latin maxims damnum sine injuria (damage without injury), injuria sine damnum (injury without damage) and ubi jus ibi remedium. According to the first two maxims if the legal right of a person is violated he will get the remedy, even in case where no actual damage is caused to him; but where he has no legal right, then if any actual damage is caused to him, he cannot be entitled to get the remedy. The ubi jus, ibi idem remedium (where there is a right there is a remedy), speaks of the remedial measure available in the formerly mentioned cases. Such remedial measures are enforced through the institution of suit. The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 is the procedural or the adjective law of Pakistan

There is not much difference between a sadist and a moralist. Sadists don't need any excuse to do violence. Moralists prepare a moral or religious excuse before they let out their violent energies."-Shunya Several groups predisposed to maintain gender inequality in Pakistan have frequently expressed unease over legislation enacted in support of the protection and empowerment of women. Particularly, a sizable portion of the religious right has frequently fought reform vehemently under the guise of safeguarding the nation's ideology. The status quo has historically been supported by louder voices than those pushing for reform, and as a result, diverse governments have historically bowed to those voices. Naturally, the enactment of the PPWVA has also aroused considerable debate, but the Punjab Government (hereafter referred to as "the Government") has so far appeared steadfast in refusing to comply with it. In order to combat violence, the PPWVA establishes a system of protection and rehabilitation for women who are caught up in it.

My latest article describes a summary of the key changes made in the Companies Act, 2017 through the Companies (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020. The Companies (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 has been promulgated by the President of Pakistan under Article 89 of the Constitution of Pakistan (the Constitution).
The government promulgated Companies (Amendments) Ordinance 2020 that altered over 121 provisions of Companies Act 2017 apparently to provide ease of doing business, promote startups and facilitate access to finance to small and medium enterprises, with an aim to meet World Bank's Ease of Doing Business indicators.

Research Articles on Six important Issues in Islamic Law

1. Marriage, Divorce and Re-Marrige (Halala) in Islam

2. Islamic Law and Tradition of Dowry and Recovery through Family Courts

3. Women Inheritance in Islam and Obligations of Men

4. Guardianship, Custody, Visitation, Child Support Under Islam and Pakistan Law

5. Concept of Polygamy in Islam and Law in Pakistan

6. Islamic Law and Adoption in Pakistan

The Government has recently announced a Tax Amnesty Scheme for owners of offshore Assets, under which the citizens of resident Pakistanis' can declare their holdings of off shore assets. Under the scheme such individuals will pay a one off " tax " to regularise them and bring them in the tax net. There are certain concerns and weaknesses in this scheme and noted below are some suggestions for imrovement.

There is a maxim of law  that delay  defeats justice . This maxim holds good both in civil and criminal cases. In every civilized  society there has been a constant effort to evolve  ways  and  means for speedy dispensation  of justice. There is huge  backlog  of cases in  all  Courts  of the country  both  in subordinate and superior Courts. It is, therefore, expedient to find alternates to the traditional legal system. Alternate Dispute Resolution mechanisms such as arbitration and mediation can be used as an effective measure for settlement of disputes to overcome delays, provide inexpensive justice and reduce tremendous burden on Courts. As the litigation takes long time, there is worldwide trend to adopt Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR).

The Bill is designed to achieve the aforesaid object.

i There are currently two main pieces of legislation dealing with arbitration in Pakistan: The Arbitration Act, 1940 1 and the Recognition and Enforcement (Arbitration Agreements and Foreign Arbitral Awards) Act, 2011 2. Although the Arbitration Act, 1940 (a pre-partition enactment, which still continues in force) is a very old act begging for modernity and alignment with other fast paced international jurisdictions, it still serves as a clear and well settled piece of legislation with consistent chain of judicial precedents backing the interpretational aspects shouldering the changing times particularly in trade and commercial matters. The Act provides for arbitration with the intervention of the court and arbitration without the intervention of the court. The main difference between these two types of arbitration pertains to whether or not both parties to a dispute are willing to resort to arbitration. Arbitration without the intervention of the court takes place where both parties are willing to resort to arbitration without seeking the court to appoint arbitrator(s). Arbitration with the intervention of the court occurs where one party is willing and the other is not so as to enable the willing party to ensure adherence to the pre-agreed arbitration by the unwilling party. The Foreign Awards Act is simply a ratification of the New York Convention, 1958 providing that foreign judgments and awards by or between the nationals of contracting states are to be enforced without questioning the validity of the same except on the grounds explicitly provided for in the Convention.

When we begin our mediation training and practice, we often hear (and speak) of the magic of mediation. When it works, it truly is wondrous. It's easy to see why a mediator feels like a wizard with supernatural powers, enabling lambs to lie down with lions. Based on my experience in the realms of magic and mediation, here is my hope. Once upon a time, if you could take a cup of water, put it in a box, push a button, and make that water boil — without raising the temperature inside the box — you'd have a miracle on your hands. Ditto for talking to someone, or even seeing them in real time, on the other side of the planet — or even in outer space! How magical is that! And yet, thanks to technology, even the youngest child is jaded by these daily experiences. My fondest wish is that our social evolution keeps pace with our technological progress, so that the peaceful resolution of disputes will similarly become as commonplace as microwaves and mobile devices. Then it will no longer seem that mystical forces-or card tricks, or magic pennies — are needed to bring together the bitterest of enemies for a common purpose. When we begin our mediation training and practice, we often hear (and speak) of the magic of mediation. When it works, it truly is wondrous. It's easy to see why a mediator feels like a wizard with supernatural powers, enabling lambs to lie down with lions. Based on my experience in the realms of magic and mediation, here is my hope. Once upon a time, if you could take a cup of water, put it in a box, push a button, and make that water boil — without raising the temperature inside the box — you'd have a miracle on your hands. Ditto for talking to someone, or even seeing them in real time, on the other side of the planet — or even in outer space! How magical is that! And yet, thanks to technology, even the youngest child is jaded by these daily experiences.

There  is a maxim of law that delay defeats justice.  This maxim holds good both in civil and criminal cases.  In every civilized society there has been a constant effort to evolve ways and  means for speedy dispensation of justice.  There  is huge backlog of cases in all Courts of the country both  in subordinate and superior Courts. It is, therefore, expedient to find alternates to the traditional legal system. Alternate Dispute Resolution such as arbitration, mediation and  Panchayat system can be used as  an  effective  measure  for settlement  of  disputes  to  overcome delays,  provide  inexpensive  justice  and reduce tremendous burden on Courts. As the litigation takes long time, there is worldwide trend to adopt Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR).


The Bill is designed to achieve the aforesaid object.

The law of inheritance is called 'Ilmil-farâyied, or Ilmil-mirâth' – (‫اﻟﻔﺮاﺋﺾ‬ ‫;ﻋﻠﻢ‬ in Arabic, "the science of obligations of inheritance ") 1. The Holy Qur'an contains three verses which give specific details of inheritance and shares, in addition to few verses dealing with testamentary power. It has also been reported in Hadith that Holy Prophet (pbuh) allotted great importance to the laws of inheritance and ordered his followers to learn and teach them. Muslim jurists used these verses as a starting point to expound the laws of inheritance even further using Hadith, as well as methods of juristic reasoning, like Qiyas. In later periods, large volumes of work have been written on the subject. The verses in the Holy Quran upon which the law of inheritance is founded begin at the 11th verse of Chapter 4 of the Holy Quran. They are rendered as follows:-" With regard to your children, God commands you to give the male the portion of two females, and if they be females more than two, then they shall have two-thirds of that which their father hath left: but if she be an only daughter, she shall have the half; and the father and mother of the deceased shall each of them have a sixth part of what he hath left, if he has a child; but if he has no child, and his parents be his heirs, then his mother shall have the third; and if he has brethren, his mother shall have the sixth, after paying the bequests he shall have bequeathed and his debts. As to your fathers or your children, ye know not which of them is the most advantageous to you. This is the law of God. Verily God is