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UK Lawyers agree with Supreme Court Bar to work jointly for rule of law and justice in the country

Association of Pakistani Lawyers a team of Pakistani origin lawyers, Solicitors, Barristers, & Judges in UK expressed their willingness to work with SCBA  and fellow lawyers fraternity in Pakistan for rule of law and justice in the country. Delegation(s) headed by Syed Zulfiqar Bukhari Secretary SCBA 2007 and APL delegation consisting of Mohammed Rafiq Chair and Amjad Malik vice chair APL exchanged views and ratified their commitments on a declaration signed on 14 September 2007 where Amjad Malik Chair of APL lead a team of APL in Pakistan on 14 September 2007. This was series of events organised by APL in the wake of lawyers struggle for independence of judiciary and this was second delegation of SCBA in second consecutive year. APL earlier signed a memorandum of understanding with Punjab Bar Council too to foster relations between lawyers community of both jurisdiction. APL presented a certificate to appreciate SCBA efforts during Chief Justice’s struggle in particular in 2007.

 Both delegations agreed on the following points and signed a memorandum in Sept 2007, the salinet features of that agreement are as following:

“IT WAS AGREED BEWTEEN APL & SCBA WHICH IS AS FOLLOWING:-

1)     Law & lawyer Community: APL and SCBA agreed to continue their for the rule of law, justice and for the cause of lawyers benefit and agreed to the following objectives in their last meeting on 14 September 2007:

·          to continue these bilateral visits for mutual co-operation and pooling of knowledge amongst the legal fraternity with Pakistani connection or origin and for their welfare and promotion in their legal careers or professions in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Law Society of England and Wales and Pakistan Bar Council and relevant national legislation. Where ever necessary, amendments will be brought to advance the case of lawyers for the cause and betterment of common man.

·          to interact with the judicial, administrative and legal professional bodies and individuals in England (UK) and Pakistan, in the areas of law, constitutional matters, legal and professional affairs and other related issues to lawyers and common man.

·          to work in promoting and upholding the dignity, nobility and high status of the legal profession and to assist the lawyer as well as mainstream community in solving their problems and any conflict and differences.

·          to help the Pakistani community in becoming aware of their legal rights and their obligations in abiding with the laws of the land whether in Pakistan or United Kingdom and or abroad, and in becoming good citizens with high morals.

·          to promote interaction and co-operation with other individuals, associations & institutions, Governments, and professional bodies and to facilitate an environment in which the above aims and objectives can be achieved democratically and fairly.

2)     Pakistan: APL and SCBA agreed to speed up their efforts to bring about a positive change for the betterment in Pakistan’s political situation and it is hoped that the endeavours of lawyers and common men as well as democratic leaders will restore true democracy in Pakistan. Both agree that Pakistani nation which is strong in mind and rich in culture deserves to see a change in their country’s political landscape and deserve democracy and jointly wish to work towards ridding the nation from continuous military rule and provide a parliamentary democratic structure in line with 73 Constitution with rule of law and justice as its salient features and both agreed that general elections must be held under a neutral care taker set up with a powerful independent election commissioner and international monitors must be allowed to observe those elections and judiciary must be allowed to work independently and no one must restrict the exiled leaders entry to Pakistan as guaranteed by Article 15 and all the political leaders must be provided access to courts and due process of law if they are forced to face trials instead of public accountability.

3)     Chief Justice Reference: APL and SCBA congratulate each other societies respectively and all the legal fraternity for their show of courage, unity and strength to work for the cause of ‘independence of judiciary’ and to safeguard the respect for the office of the Honourable Chief Justice and utilising all possible mechanism available to seek justice as well as restoring the respect and dignity of the profession which it truly deserves. All the world is considering the struggle of lawyers and civil society with admiration for which all the lawyer community deserves great admiration. 

4)     Terrorism: APL and SCBA agree that both the countries along with the world face the horrific emergence of the acts and threats of terrorism ad condemn use of terrorism to achieve or make a political point as both agree that loss of one civilian life is loss of the whole humanity. . It was resolved categorically that terrorism in all its forms be condemned and that there is no justification for acts of terrorism and violence to be used to further any political cause or for terror and violence to be used to meet any justified goal. It was further resolved that concerted efforts need to be made by those wishing to eliminate the menace of terrorism to find and truly understand the root causes of terrorism and invest time, expertise, diplomacy and other legitimate methods to address underlying problems that cause severe desperation in the hearts and minds of the oppressed that could lead them to commit these crimes, this needs to be done so that the world can rid itself of this horror effectively and permanently.

5)     Discrimination: APL and SCBA agree that the problems of discrimination need to be addressed in the legal communities of both Pakistan and England and Wales (UK). The resolution calls for the need for discrimination problems to be addressed effectively and the need for integration and mutual adaptability to be harnessed accordingly so that qualified lawyers, advocates and members of the judiciary from Pakistan can interchangeably be coordinated with similar legal roles in the UK and vice versa. It was resolved that the requisite skills, education and experience of the professional lawyer should be at the forefront and their core base of practice should not be a hurdle for continuing practice in the above mentioned jurisdictions. Discriminatory practices should be abolished and dealt with conclusively in a manner that would promote swift integration and interchange ability to both sets of lawyer communities.

6)     Future Work: APL and SCBA welcome the decision of 20 July 2007 whereby Chief Justice was reinstated and jointly agree to work for the cause of ‘independence of judiciary including crystal clear mechanism of the appointment of judges, and true accountable process of Bar and Bench as both societies agree that   good lawyers in return become good judges and that both societies will help each other to achieve that goal.

7)     APL and SCBA agree to continue their future collaboration and to hold future meetings, seminars in order to foster relations between lawyers of both societies. Both Societies agree that whilst formulating the future delegation elected members are to be given due preference.

Chair APL 2008 Mohammed Rafiq thanked the respected guest and approved his appointment as coordinator for SCBA to oversee relations between APL & SCBA.

Signed:  xxxx

Mohammed Rafiq

Chair Association of Pakistani Lawyers (UK)

Office Address
149a DRAKE STREET
ROCHDALE
OL11 1EF

TEL: 00 44 1706 346 111
FAX: 00 44 1706 346012
MOBILE: 00 44 7770 983308
EMAIL: AMSolicitors@aol.com

5 April 2008

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