ISLAMABAD: Lahore High Court Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah Tuesday said that ‘Alternative Dispute Resolution’ system would help in reducing the shelf life of cases.

He expressed these views while addressing a ceremony about setting up Alternate Dispute Resolution centre at Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI). Addressing traders, CJ LHC said that currently we have one judge on 62,000 people, this is not possible that we cater all cases in a speedy manner.

He said we extended the scope of Alternate Dispute Resolution Centres (ADRC) across Punjab for providing inexpensive and speedy justice to the people.

More than 36 districts these ADR are working actively as a result we resolved 7,000 cases in 6 months period. He appreciated RCCI for taking initiative and coordinating with Community Judge for executed the idea of ADR at RCCI. He said business community has better say in profit and loss and they want to focus themselves in their business rather in litigation. We have to move from right base approach to interest base approach giving the frame of law and resolved issues through ADR.

CJ LHC while referring to 62 billion dollar investment under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and other Chinese projects said we have to look for ADR for such possible litigations.

He said concept shared by the chief justice and ensured full participation of chambers of commerce to evolve a meaningful framework for the dispute resolutions related to CPEC and other Chinese private investment projects.

Syed Mansoor Ali Shah apprised the attendees regarding the existing ADR projects that had been resolved by him at the provincial level. He said that due to rapid influx of Chinese investments, the numbers of disputes would also increase that would create the demand for an effective regulatory system rightly termed as ‘Alternative Dispute Resolution.

He offered trainings for chamber members for ADR and said that the ADR center at RCCI is the flag ship of this initiative related to the business community.

Earlier, RCCI President Zahid Latif Khan in his address said that ADR will help business community in providing speedy justice and inexpensive at the door step.

He said that settlement of trade disputes through litigation was a time consuming and costly process while establishment of ADRC will provide a good opportunity to local business community to seek out-of-court and speedy settlement of such disputes.

Session judge Suhail Nasir, Senior Civil judge Azeem Akhtar also spoke on the occasion—PR