Showing posts with label Hon'ble Judges. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hon'ble Judges. Show all posts

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Justice Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday was born on 13th January, 1945 at Lahore; received early education from Central Model School, Lahore; joined Government College, Lahore from where he migrated to Gordon College, Rawalpindi, on account of his father’s posting in the Federal Ministry of Law; graduated from Gordon College, Rawalpindi; remained the Editor of the College Magazine “Gordonian”; remained the President of the college Minerva Club; remained as best debater of the College. He did L.L.B. from The University of Punjab in the year 1968; remained the Secretary of the Punjab University Law Society; remained the Editor of College Magazine “Al-Mizan”; won a large number of prizes and trophies in the International and All Pakistan Inter-Collegiate Debates; was declared as the best English debater in the year 1968 and won the “Krishnan Kishore Grover Goodwill Gold Medal Declamation Contest”; He remained the visiting Assistant Professor of the University of Punjab; remained a Member of the visiting faculty of the Civil Services Academy of Pakistan and the National Institute of Public Administration, Lahore. He was honoured with a degree of ‘Doctor of Law’ by the Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar on May, 2005 in recognition of services rendered in the field of Education.

He was enrolled as an Advocate of the subordinate Courts in the year 1969; as an Advocate of the High Court in the year 1971 and as an Advocate of the Supreme Court in the year 1976. He was appointed as an Assistant Advocate General for the province of Punjab in April, 1976; was promoted as Additional Advocate General in the year 1984 and as the Advocate General in March, 1987.

He was elevated to the bench of Lahore High Court in October, 1988 and to the Supreme Court of Pakistan in January, 2002.

His lordship remained a visiting Assistant Professor at the Punjab University Law College, Lahore and is presently a member of the visiting Faculty of the Civil Services Academy of Pakistan and the National Institute of Public Administration (NIPA) at Lahore since 1982. Also has the honour of delivering lectures at the National Defence College, Islamabad (now the National Defence University), the Administrative Staff College of Pakistan (now the National School of Public Policy), the Naval War College and the Air Force War College of Pakistan.

His lordship had been on the Board of Governors of the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS); of the Lahore School of Economics; of the Air University, Islamabad and of the University of Modern Languages and Disciplines, Islamabad. He has also been a member of the Syndicate of the Islamia University, Bahawalpur; the Agriculture University, Faisalabad and of the Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad.

His lordship has had the honour of addressing the Gurukul Kangri University at Haridewar in India where he had been invited to talk about inter-faith harmony. On the same subject, His lordship addressed the Rotary International South Asia Goodwill Summit, 2007 held at Delhi in February, 2007. On August 12, 2007, His lordship delivered a talk on the ‘FARCICAL NATURE OF THE APPREHENDED CLASH OF CIVILIZATIONS’ in Oslo on the occasion of the Pakistan Day celebrations. On the same subject, His lordship also spoke to the Rotarians in Amsterdam on September 3, 2007.

His lordship is the younger brother of (late) Mr. Muhammad Farooq who was, twice, the Attorney General for Pakistan and of Mr. Asad-ur-Rehman who has been a member of the Parliament and a Federal Minister of State. In February, 1971, His lordship was married to the daughter of Mr. Justice Yaqoob Ali Khan who remained the Chief Justice of Pakistan from 1975 till 1977 when he was ousted by General Zia-ul-Haq, the then Chief Martial Law Administrator of the country.

In the year 2007, His lordship presided over a thirteen member Bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan which heard a petition filed by the Chief Justice of Pakistan questioning his removal from office by General Pervez Musharraf, the then President of Pakistan and challenging also the validity of the proceedings initiated against him for his alleged misconduct; set aside the said actions of the said General and restored the Chief Justice back to his office through a land-mark judgment of July 20, 2007.

In October 2007, Mr. Justice Ramday was included in an eleven member Bench of the Supreme Court to hear the petition filed by a presidential candidate; Mr. Justice (retired) Wajih-ud-Din Ahmad challenging the eligibility of General Musharraf to contest the election to the office of the President of Pakistan. On November 3, 2007, while this Bench of the Supreme Court was still hearing this case and was about to announce the judgment, General Musharraf, once again, imposed Martial Law in the country; removed Justice Ramday, along with twelve other Hon’ble Judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan including the Hon’ble Chief Justice, from office; put him and the other members of his family, including his wife, children and even a grand-child, under house-arrest like the Hon’ble Chief Justice and some other Hon’ble Judges and it was after almost five months of this detention that His lordship was finally released towards the end of March, 2008.

As a result of a long, a hard and a bloody struggle of the people of Pakistan led by the learned members of the National Bar for the constitutionalism, for the rule of law, for the independence of Judiciary and for restoration of the deposed Hon’ble Judges against the said action of the 3rd of November that His lordship got restored to his office on March 16, 2009.

He retired as Judge of the Supreme Court on 12.1.2010. He was appointed as an Adhoc Judge of the Supreme Court on 18.02.2010 for a period of one year.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah

Hon'ble Mr Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah has been a practicing advocate at the Supreme Court of Pakistan and at the High Courts of since 2003 and 1991 respectively (not appearing before the Supreme Court of Pakistan or the High Courts since the illegal action against the judiciary since 3rd November, 2008). He handles both corporate and civil litigation and corporate transactional services with same dexterity. He has argued over 2000 cases at the superior courts in areas of Judicial Review, Constitutional law, Civil law, Corporate Governance, Banking, Arbitration (ADR), Property law, Land Acquisition, Land Revenue, Family law, Privatization, Taxation-Sales Tax, Customs, Excise, Income Tax, Insurance, Environment, Finance, Foreign Investment, Intellectual Property and Public Interest Litigation. He is equally involved in transactional work and policy consultancies for international and local clients. In addition to aforesaid areas he has advised various prominent clients on WTO- Trade Defense Laws i.e., Anti-Dumping, Safeguards, Subsidies and Countervailing, Energy, Information Technology, Telecommunication, Social Sector Development, Empowerment of the Civil Society, Legal Education and Reform, Transparency, Devolution, Tax Reform, Legal & Judicial Reform, Micro Finance & Not-for-Profit Laws. The focus of legal work over the years has been pro development and therefore consultancies and teaching has contributed to the development of law and the society at large.

Professional Qualifications

Licensed to appear as an Advocate in the High Courts in Pakistan, 1991.
Licensed to appear and plead before the Supreme Court of Pakistan, August, 2003
Educational Qualifications

B.A/ M.A. (Law) Cambridge University, U.K. (Downing College), 1989-91.
M.A (Economics)- University of the Punjab, Lahore. 1988.
LL.B - University of the Punjab, Law College, Lahore. 1986-88. (Gold Medal)
B.A (Mathematics and French), University of the Punjab, 1984
High School - Aitchison College, Lahore. 1968-1981
Work Experience

Founding Partner AFRIDI, SHAH & MINALLAH, (Advocates and Legal Consultants) 1997-
Partner, Syed Mansoor Ali Shah & Associates, 1991-1997
PROPERTY LAW AND LAND ACQUISITON Challenged several land acquisitions against public interest before the High Court and the Supreme Court of Pakistan and also advised companies on land acquisition. Have been involved in several property transactions.
LEGAL STRUCTURING: Legal Disbursement Structure for UNICEF to disburse funds to Children used as child camel jockeys and now returned by UAE to Government of Pakistan– December, 2007
URBAN PLANNING AND THE SUPREME COURT: petitioned to the Supreme Court of Pakistan (2006) against illegal construction of high rise building in Lahore. This led to development of the High-rise Building Commission and all the multi-storeyed buildings of Lahore under construction were stopped and inspected by the august Court through the Commission (also invoking their suo moto powers). This led to demolition of several illegal buildings and structures. The case is still pending.
PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION AND SAVING OF A PARK: Stopped the conversion and construction of a cineplex in a public park in Gulberg i.e., Doongi Ground. 2006 (case is still pending).
ALTERNATE DISPUTE RESOLUTION: Sat as Chairman, Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee-II for Income Tax. 2005-07 and settled a number of disputes. Appointed by the Federal Board of Revenue, Federal Government, Islamabad.
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE: Board Member of Pakistan Telecommunications Company Limited (PTCL) largest telecom in the country 2003 to 2006. Was an enriching experience in the area of telecom and related regulatory issues. Helped revamp and restructure the legal cell at PTCL and worked on the Voluntary Severance Scheme (VSS) for 55,000 PTCL employees.2003-2006
LEGAL EDUCATION: Member of the Steering Committee for setting up of Lums Law School. 2001-2005
CONSULTANCY (TAXATION): Lead Consultant in Reforming and Re-Engineering Sales Tax Regime. 1999-2000
COSULATANCY (URBAN PLANNING): Legal design for the urban planning and development of five major cities of Punjab- Urban Unit, Government of Punjab, 2008.
NOT FOR PROFIT SECTOR: Worked for Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy (PCP) to review and revise the laws relating to philanthropy Pakistan. Also for the first time converted a Public Trust (Brook Hospital for Animals) into a Charitable Company under section 42 of the Companies Ordinance. 1999. Have set up and advise a number of not for profit organizations.
CONSTITUTIONAL LITIGATION: Argued and won the landmark case against freezing of Foreign Currency Accounts before the Hon’ble Lahore High Court. 1998-1999.
LEGISLATION: Drafted law for the SMEs in the initial stages of formation of SMEDA. 1998
BANKING: Challenged the vires of the 1984 Banking Law, which was struck down by the Lahore High Court as being in violation of the Constitution.
HOSTILE TAKEOVER: Filed the first case under the hostile Take Over law in Pakistan before the SECP and have successfully stalled the take over. The case is pending.
CORPORATE LITIGATION: Are pioneers in filing the first petition for mismanagement and oppression and investigation under the company law before the Lahore High Court (these judgments are reported).

Justice Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry, having been sworn in as Chief Justice of Lahore High Court on 9th December, 2010, was born in a noble family of village Jabbal, Tehsil Shakargrarh, District Narowal on 15th December, 1950. After doing Bachelor of Laws, Justice Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry started practicing law in 1975 and was enrolled as an Advocate High Court in 1977. His lordship ascended to be an Advocate Supreme Court in 1992.

By dint of sheer hard work, diligence and quest for learning, Justice Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry acquired laudable legal acumen and professional prowess and before being raised to the Bench served as:

Special Prosecutor, Sessions Court, Lahore (from 1977 to 1979)
Legal Advisor NDFC, various Banks and Companies (1988)
Assistant Advocate General, Punjab (from 1988 to 1995)
Additional Advocate General, Punjab (from 1999 to May 2001)
He has been adorning the Bench at Lahore High Court since 2nd May, 2001 where he made his mark as an untiring Judge and apart from contributing to many celebrated judgments accepted many administrative responsibilities with heart and soul. Some of those are enumerated below:

Inspection Judge, Lahore District.
Member Administration Committee, Lahore High Court, Lahore.
Cooperative Judge, Lahore High Court, Lahore.
Appellate Judge, Customs.
Administrative Judge, Anti Terrorism Courts in Punjab.
Administrative Judge, Anti Corruption Courts in Punjab.
Administrative Judge, Drug Courts in Punjab.
Led a delegation of the Judicial Officers to Vienna and Germany in November 2009 on a study tour on International Cooperative in Terrorism Cases/Drugs and Crimes arranged by the United Nations Office.
Chairman, Committee for Enrollment of Advocates Supreme Court of Pakistan.
Member Syndicate, University of the Punjab.
Member Syndicate Committee, Punjab University Law College.
Member Board of Management, Punjab Judicial Academy.
Some of the land mark judgments delivered by him are (1) Mukhtaran Mai’s Case, (2) Namoos-e-Risalat Case, (3) Dr.Abdul Qadeer Khan’s Case and (4) Hafiz Saeed Ahmad’s Case.

Thus having proved his mettle as Judge of this Court for more than 9 years, Hon’ble Mr.Justice Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry was appointed Chief Justice of Lahore High Court and took oath as such on 9th December, 2010. Hon’ble Chief Justice is held in the highest esteem both by the legal fraternity as well as brother Judges and enjoys cordial and harmonious working relationship with the Bar. Last but not the least, Hon’ble Chief Justice was one of those of the inspiring and leading characters of the historic movement for restoration of Judiciary who refused to take oath under the PCO.

Hon’ble Mr.Justice Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry will be serving this Court as Chief Justice till December 14, 2012.