Induction

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, the then Judge Lahore High Court, Lahore (now Hon’ble Judge Supreme Court of Pakistan), with the persistent support of the then Hon’ble Senior Puisne Judge Lahore High Court, Lahore Mr. Justice Umar Ata Bandial (now Hon’ble Judge Supreme Court of Pakistan) had established the LHCRC. After him, Hon’ble Mr. Justice Jawad Hassan, Judge Lahore High Court, Lahore on the directions of the Hon’ble Chief Justice, Lahore High Court, revamped the LHCRC and improved its standing as a reliable institute of quality legal research.

In order to realize his vision, Hon'ble Mr. Justice Jawad Hassan, introduced a competitive process for the selection of the members of the LHCRC from the District Judiciary, Punjab. Accordingly, in 2019, the applications were invited from the judges of district judiciary. The criteria of shortlisting was set on having qualitative judgments and effective research work. After scrutinizing the candidates against the established criteria, 20 aspirants were short-listed. In order to equip the candidates with the latest research tools, a comprehensive training program was launched at Punjab Judicial Academy, Lahore. The candidates were evaluated on their performance during the training, including class participation and written tests. This process was followed by an interview conducted by a panel comprising Hon’ble judge Justice Jawad Hassan, Ch. Humayun Imtiaz (Registrar Lahore High Court, Lahore), Mr. Ashtar Abbas (Director General of Directorate of District Judiciary, Lahore High Court), Mr. Sher Abbas (Senior Research Officer, LHCRC), Ms. Nathalia Berkowitz ( Deputy Team lead Justice System Support Program; British High Commission Pakistan backed program for improvement of Criminal Justice System in the country), and Mr. Uzair Kayani (Assistant Professor, LUMS University Lahore). Only 8 judges could stand the rigors of this process and were eventually selected.

Before assigning official duties to these research officers, they were imparted legal training at LUMS University. Hon’ble Mr. Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, judge Supreme Court of Pakistan, was the chief guest of the concluding ceremony of this training session. The Hon’ble Judge in his address appreciated the efforts of Mr. Justice Jawad Hassan, congratulated the research officers on their selection and advised them to embrace the virtues, like self-belief, hard-work and perseverance to carry their institution to new echelons of excellence and glory.