ISLAMABAD, Apr 21, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah took oath as the
acting Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) on Monday.
He was sworn in by Justice Munib Akhtar, the senior judge of the apex
court.
The oath-taking ceremony was attended by Supreme Court of Pakistan
judges, the attorney general, law officers, and lawyers.
He will serve country’s top judge in the absence of CJP Yahya Afridi,
who is set to undertake a foreign visit.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi, will head a distinguished
delegation to the 20th Conference of Chief Justices of the Supreme
Courts of SCO Member States, scheduled in Hangzhou, China, from April 22
to 26, 2025.
Accompanying the Chief Justice will be Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan, Justice
Shahid Waheed, and two judges of the district judiciary: Zafar Jan,
District and Sessions Judge Gwadar, the remotest district of
Balochistan, and Nadia Gul Wazir, Senior Civil Judge District Lakhi
Marwat a remote district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Their participation underscores Justice Yahya Afridi commitment of
inclusivity within the judicial system as well ownership of judicial
officers performing duty at way off places.
During this significant event, an important Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) is expected to be signed between the Supreme Court of Pakistan and
the Supreme People’s Court of China.
This MoU aims to significantly enhance bilateral judicial cooperation by
establishing institutional linkages, facilitating capacity-building
initiatives, and promoting knowledge exchange in critical areas,
including international commercial law, arbitration, cybercrime,
financial crime, climate change litigation, and judicial technology
integration.
Moreover, the MoU seeks to deepen collaboration in dispute resolution,
recognition and enforcement of judicial decisions, and mutual legal
assistance in civil matters, reaffirming the shared commitment of both
nations towards judicial independence, sovereignty, and adherence to the
rule of law.
Justice Shahid Waheed will deliver a keynote speech titled “Judicial
Application of Artificial Intelligence,” highlighting AI’s
transformative potential to enhance judicial efficiency, transparency,
and accessibility. Justice Waheed will discuss Pakistan’s ongoing
initiatives, including AI-driven legal drafting in collaboration with
global institutions such as ETH Zurich, advanced AI-based legal research
tools, digitization of court records, and predictive analytics for
ensuring consistent judicial outcomes. He will underscore the ethical
framework necessary for AI integration, focusing on transparency, human
oversight, bias mitigation, data protection, judicial training,
accountability and establishing an AI Ethics Committee within Supreme
Court of Pakistan to oversee the responsible and transparent application
of AI technologies.
Additionally, on the sidelines of the SCO Conference, CJP Yahya Afridi
will hold bilateral discussions with the chief justice of Iran,
exploring ways to deepen judicial exchanges and collaborative
engagements. This interaction underscores Pakistan’s dedication to
strengthening international judicial cooperation.
Following the SCO conference, Chief Justice Afridi will proceed to
Istanbul at the special invitation of Kadir Özkaya, President of the
Constitutional Court of Türkiye, to attend the 63rd Anniversary
celebrations of the Turkish Constitutional Court from April 24 to 27,
2025. This visit is expected to enhance judicial cooperation and deepen
the ties between the judicial institutions of Pakistan and Türkiye.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan anticipates these engagements will
significantly contribute to judicial efficiency and improved access to
justice, yielding mutual benefits for the judicial systems and citizens
of the participating nations