Rawalpindi: (Parliament Times) The Chief Justice of Lahore High Court, Mr. Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah has said that for the protection of rights of citizens of Pakistan the Judiciary of Punjab is doing all out efforts. He was speaking to a reception arranged by the World Congress of Overseas Pakistanis (WCOP) in Holiday Inn, Coram St. Bloomsbury, London in the Honor of the Lahore High Court 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 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. establishment of 1134 helpline and Sahulat Centres, creation of ADR Centers in 36 Districts of Punjab, rolling out of enterprise system in the Lahore High Court, etc.
He then told the participants that the very purpose of bringing a delegation to London was to build linkages with British Judiciary and to learn from their experiences in 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 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 Lahore High Court. However, he urged the overseas Pakistanis community, WCOP and OPC to work together to identify the cases involving overseas Pakistanis enabling the Lahore High Court to adopt appropriate measures for the redressal of grievances of overseas Pakistanis. The Chief Justice also thanked the overseas Pakistani community and WCOP for holding the said event.
Earlier in the day, the delegation of the Lahore High Court delegation led by the Chief Justice visited the Royal Courts of Justice and met with Judge Christa Christensen, Director of Training, Ms. Sheridan Greenland OBE, Chief Executive Officer of the Judicial College and with Michelle Austin, Head of the Judicial Education Team. 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 Ms. 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 United Kingdom in relation to training of Judges and various evaluation strategies. The Chief Justice, as a token of respect, gave away Lahore High Court souvenirs to the above British dignitaries and also placed a word of gratitude for the extension of cooperation in the field of judicial education.
