The awards were organized by Ministry of Law and Justice, Women in Law Initiative, Group Development Pakistan with support from the Australian High Commission and British High Commission
DNA
ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s 1st Women in Law Awards 2020-21 and Symposium on Diversity and Inclusion were held in Islamabad. Dr Nudrat Piracha won the best Appropriate Dispute Resolution (ADR) Lawyer award.
The awards were organized by Ministry of Law and Justice, Women in Law Initiative, Group Development Pakistan with support from the Australian High Commission and British High Commission and were distributed by the law minister’s office. Dr. Nudrat E. Piracha is the first woman in Pakistan to have qualified as a Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D), which is the highest degree in law awarded to people with exceptional academic and professional record. She is a Fulbright scholar, a Weinstein JAMS International Fellow for 2018, and the first lawyer from Pakistan to become a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, UK.
Dr Piracha is partner at the firm Samdani & Qureshi, Islamabad. In the past, she had dealt with corporate issues, commercial and investment arbitrations and has cross-border issues and transactions. She also worked on cases like Bayindir concerning an approximate claim of USD 800 million, Agility concerning an approximate claim of USD 650 million, and advised the government concerning annulment of the Riko Dik dispute valuing approximately 6 billion dollars. She is also advising the government as a member of a twelve-member committee on improving the international investment regime of Pakistan and eight member committee on international law. She is also author of treaties on investment arbitration, which is referred to by giants in the field as a “uniquely impressive tome.” She has been referred to by Judge Charles N. Brower (Judge of the International Court of Justice, Iran-U.S. tribunals and arbitrator for over fifty years) as truly a “Wonder Woman” of international law.
Pakistan in international cases has lost significant battles before international forums. The resistance against ADR has been witnessed during its development stages in other more developed countries as well. There is a dearth of expertise in the area in Pakistan and people are comfortable with what they know and understand. It is often thought that the users of the system are not sufficiently trained to effectively pursue international ADR. But ADR is the need of this time and age and cannot be avoided for too long, and internationally acclaimed professionals like Dr Piracha are an asset to the country.
