The UMT School of Law and Policy, was proud to host Mr. Zafar Iqbal Kalanuri, Advocate Supreme Court of Pakistan, on Thursday 15th October, 2020, at the Ali Sageer Hall. The topic of guest lecture was the System of Alternate Dispute Resolution in Pakistan. The audience comprised of a number of eminent legal professionals, as well as students and faculty of UMT. Ms. Khusbakht Qaiser, Assistant Professor SLP began the day’s proceedings by thanking all participants who took time out to attend. She then went on to welcome our eminent guest and shared with the audience details of Mr. Kalanuri’s distinguished career and the impact that he has had on the legal community in his work as not only as advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, but as an Arbitrator, White Collar crime investigator, as well as his role in improving the quality of legal education in Pakistan. Ms. Qaiser then invited Director SLP Dr. Usman Hameed to the stage who thanked Mr. Kalanuri for his time, and expressed his confidence that the students, and all present would greatly learn from his insights and experience, especially as it related to alternate dispute resolution Mr. Kalanuri began his lecture by first sharing his admiration for the quality of education being provided at UMT and congratulated SLP’s Director, faculty and team in their pursuit of providing quality legal education in Pakistan. He further went on to explain that in order to understand the importance of ADR, students had to clear about how the legal system works and its specific failings. After this, he discussed the formal and informal justice system and how each has its own peculiar concerns, the net result being that most people do not see a just resolution of disputes in their lifetimes. Mr. Kalanuri explained that the how most people tend to conflate the various different methods of ADR such as arbitration, mediation, conciliation, neutral evaluation and more. He clarified that each of these methods utilize different methods and procedures for resolution, with arbitration most closely resembling traditional litigation. He stated that the most underused method of ADR in Pakistan remains mediation which is where which the parties discuss their disputes with the assistance of a trained impartial third person who assists them in reaching a settlement. It may be an informal meeting among the parties or a scheduled settlement conference. Mr. Kalanuri shared his experience as being not only a licensed mediator but also a master trainer in mediation and shared how valuable this process can be. He emphasized how lawyers are uniquely qualified for such a role and the tremendous impact it has on reducing litigatious backlog as well as helping people resolve their disputes. Ms. Khusbakht Qaiser formally brought the event to a close by thanking all present, and invited Mr. Kalanuri to receive a souvenir from Director SLP, Dr. Usman Hameed as a small token of the School’s appreciation. After this, our distinguished guest was kind enough to take pictures with members of the law faculty and students, before he made his way to a tea reception arranged by SLP.
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