LONDON – A day ago, Justice Jawad Hassan of the Lahore High Court (LHC) spoke as a key panelist at a highly regarded event at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) during London Arbitration Week, where he underscored the critical importance of the Arbitration Mechanism for modern global justice and commerce.
Justice Hassan contributed his insights to the panel titled “From Award to Execution: Evolving Court Support in the Enforcement Stage,” where he addressed the crucial role national courts play in the post-award phase of arbitration. The panel discussion focused on the legal and practical challenges of enforcing arbitration awards across different jurisdictions under the New York Convention. Justice Hassan delivered insights rooted in the context of South Asia, highlighting the progressive intent of the Pakistani judiciary to embrace international best practices in Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).
His core argument centered on the necessity of strong arbitration mechanisms and the supportive role required from national courts to ensure the effective enforcement of awards, which is crucial for enhancing investor confidence and facilitating the ease of doing business in countries like Pakistan.
Addressing the central themes of the panel – the tension between judicial intervention and party autonomy, and the evolving approach of courts toward recognition and execution – Justice Hassan expressed there is dire need to move towards a smart and time effective and system of disputes resolution. Terming ADR as crucial for growth, development and investment and to strengthen national institutions, Justice Hassan stressed the need for national courts to adopt a pro-enforcement judicial attitude toward arbitral awards, minimizing unnecessary intervention and procedural delays to uphold the fundamental principle of party autonomy underlying arbitration.
He underscored the importance of modernizing Pakistan’s arbitration law to align with globally accepted frameworks, such as the UNCITRAL Model Law, to assure international investors of a reliable and familiar legal environment consistent with the New York Convention’s goals. Justice Hassan used to express , “We are turning out lawyers of adversarial mindsets; we need lawyers who are of pro-settlement mindset, it cannot be disputes all the time.
” It is pertinent to mention that Justice Hassan’s participation highlighted key lessons for practitioners and businesses relying on international arbitration, particularly regarding the necessary shift toward judicial efficiency and support for arbitral awards. The LSE event brought together a distinguished group of legal experts from the UK, Europe, and South Asia to offer comparative perspectives on the complexities of post-award enforcement, including: Honourable Mr Justice Robin Knowles CBE (UK), Justice Jawad Hassan (Pakistan), Can Eken, Dr Crina Baltag, Paul McMahon and Saleem Raza Sheikh (Senior Partner).
The LSE Law School has hosted the event which was attended by both academics and practitioners, signaling continued engagement with the global arbitration community on matters of cross-border enforcement.
