Alternative Dispute Resolution

More and more lawyers in Pakistan are women, and many are finding that alternative dispute resolution offers career opportunities that suit their commitment to gender-inclusive justice.

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is attracting increasing attention, especially since Pakistan’s formal legal system is overwhelmed with cases. Many marginalized persons, especially those in impoverished communities and women, find it difficult to access the legal system in Pakistan due to the stigma attached to approaching courts, inability to… Read more

Pakistan’s courts are overloaded. Civil litigation can often span decades, sometimes outliving the litigants. But with new legislation and support from The Asia Foundation, alternative dispute resolution is quickly becoming an accepted alternative that can speed the delivery of justice.

The law is a predominantly male profession in Pakistan. While women are now a significant presence in the nation’s law schools, female lawyers are rare, and judges even rarer. The patriarchal culture that prevails in the country generally deems women “unsuited” for the rough and tumble of legal practice, and they are routinely discouraged, in ways… Read more

In his old age, a longstanding property dispute became the bane of Abdul Hamid Khan’s existence. The father of four sons and three daughters in Punjab’s Rahimyar district, Khan had been left, like Shakespeare’s King Lear, without a roof over his head. It was a dispute over land inheritance. In 2010, Khan transferred all his property, some 16 acres,… Read more

According to the World Justice Project’s latest Rule of Law Index, Pakistan ranks near the bottom in its ability to ensure protection of fundamental rights and advancing civil and criminal justice. Beyond the impact that this has on citizens, the challenges facing Pakistan’s justice system also impede economic development and drive inequality. Now… Read more

In January, Pakistan’s National Assembly approved a government bill for out-of-court settlements, known as the Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) Bill. The move paves the way for non-traditional dispute mechanisms, such as the jirga or panchayat, to complement the formal system of justice and provide a means of settling disputes outside of Pakistan… Read more

Over the last two decades, economic and regulatory reforms in Vietnam have stimulated a vibrant residential land market, an urban construction boom and an ascendant middle class. But these reforms have also unleashed waves of conflict over land. “Hot spots” have erupted where people directly, and sometimes violently, challenge state land policies a… Read more