LAHORE: Lahore High Court Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah has said that the judiciary of Punjab is making all efforts for the protection of rights of citizens of Pakistan.
He was speaking to a reception arranged by the World Congress of Overseas Pakistanis (WCOP) at Holiday Inn, Coram St. Bloomsbury, London in the honour of the Lahore High Court (LHC) delegation which is on a visit to London.
The chief justice laid great emphasis on the fact that the object of all the judicial reforms being carried out in the Punjab judiciary was to reduce the shelf life of a case which would have the ultimate effect of easing the life of an ordinary man.
He apprised the participants about various steps which had been taken to realize the said objective i.e. the establishment of 1134 helpline, Sahulat Centres; the creation of ADR Centers in 36 districts of Punjab, rolling out of enterprise system in the LHC, etc.
The chief justice went on to tell the participants that the very purpose of bringing a delegation to London was to build linkages with the British judiciary and to learn from their experiences in the implementation of recent judicial reforms and to make tangible action plans in the light of the lessons learnt as such.
Highlighting the initiatives taken by the judiciary of Punjab in relation to the cases of overseas Pakistanis, he informed the attendees that separate trial courts had been designated in Punjab to hear the cases of overseas Pakistanis and that after being identified as an overseas Pakistani case, a matter had to be disposed of within 6 months’ time.
He also said that the data relating to overseas Pakistani cases was continuously being updated on the official website of the LHC.
However, he urged the overseas Pakistanis community, WCOP and OPC to work together so that they may identify the cases involving all overseas Pakistanis as this would enable the LHC to adopt appropriate measures for redressing of grievances.
The chief justice also thanked the overseas Pakistani community and WCOP for holding the said event.
Earlier in the day, the LHC delegation led by the chief justice visited the Royal Courts of Justice and met with Judge Christa Christensen, Greenland OBE Director of Training Ms Sheridan, Judicial College Chief Executive Officer and with the Head of the Judicial Education Team Michelle Austin.
The main focus of the meeting was the training of judges and staff, distance learning and evolution of efficient performance evaluation mechanisms. Judge Christa along with Sheridan briefed the delegation about the details of existing judicial training framework in the United Kingdom.
The briefing also included the specifics of the Learning Management System being used in the UK in relation to training of judges and various evaluation strategies.
The chief justice, as a token of respect, gave away LHC souvenirs to the above British dignitaries and also placed a word of gratitude for the extension of cooperation in the field of judicial education.