UCP Journal of Law & Legal Education

Enforcement of Foreign Award and Public Policy Rules in Pakistan

2023-08-07T17:17:09+00:00

Public policy is a phenomenon that is difficult to be confined within boundaries. It is a variable notion that evolves with the growth and upbringing of society. It is mostly unwritten and un-codified. Therefore, it greatly bears the potential to be used in an unbridled manner by the competent authorities of the states against the enforcement of foreign awards. This feature of public policy emphasizes the need to chalk out those ideologies and canons in a state that give birth to its public policy rules and constitute to be the basis of it. Like every other country, Pakistan also has a public policy which provides grounds to its national courts to nullify those arbitral awards which are inconsistent to it. This article uses doctrinal research and primarily relies on caselaw in its descriptive analysis of the sources that constitute the foundation-stone of Pakistan's public policy and the principles that have evolved upon it.

The Recommendations of The Council of Islamic Ideology on Family Laws: An Analytical Review

2023-08-07T17:20:33+00:00

Before and after the partition of the sub-continent, efforts were in place to provide a comprehensive mechanism for the resolution of family disputes of Muslims according to the injunctions of Islam. Islam remained the cornerstone of the new state which surfaced as Objectives Resolution. Then, under the 1956 Constitution, a commission was constituted and assigned the task of making recommendations for the Islamisation of the laws of the country. The same institution, with the change of nomenclature, The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), was assigned the same task under the 1962 and 1973 Constitutions. Since then, the Council has examined almost every aspect of existing legislation on family matters, primarily, The Muslim Family Laws Ordinance (MFLO), 1961 and The West Pakistan Family Court Act, 1964. It has recommended amendments for the improvement of these laws. This paper is to identify whether CII has provided adequate recommendations to the legislature to address the issues pertaining to family laws in Pakistan. This paper is qualitative in nature and descriptive analysis has been made based on primary and secondary data. This paper concludes that CII has played its role as per the constitution and published its annual reports in which issues of family laws have comprehensively been addressed. The paper suggests that the advice of the council must be followed in letter and spirit to bring these laws in consonance with the injunction of Islam.

Incorporating Clinical Method for Teaching Legal Theory and Skills: Prospects and Challenges

2023-08-07T17:26:38+00:00

The clinical teaching method is not a new pedagogy and is limited to a few academic programmes as it is a complex teaching and learning situation influenced by the need to design learning content, planning, learning environment and the participants’ role and interactions with others in the setting. Clinical teaching has always been an integral part of the medical curriculum, with the objective that medical students develop a high level of professional competency and a positive attitude towards patients. Meanwhile, traditional law schools are designed for students to listen, understand and memorise vast number of legal theories and procedures. However, the retention rate of knowledge is not very satisfying. Hence, legal jurists felt the need to introduce innovative teaching methods similar to clinical teaching in medical programmes. Clinical teaching for law programmes is designed to expose students to learn problem-solving from real-life situations and help them graduate with the required legal knowledge, lawyering skills and enhanced confidence. Another benefit of clinical education is seen as a means of training young legal professionals to respond effectively to the legal aid services of the community. This research aims to trace the development of clinical education and the benefits of adopting it as part of legal professionals’ training. Challenges in introducing clinical education in law schools will be discussed to identify the issues that need to be addressed in identifying the prospects of developing an effective curriculum and sustainable programme.

Students’ Perceptions of Quality Assurance of Legal Education in Pakistan

2023-08-07T17:32:29+00:00

Despite showing evidence of growth and advancement in many major sectors, Pakistan is still seriously lagging in terms of growth in its education sector. This inadequacy of advancement is evident in its legal education as it has not been given the necessary attention that is required to be on par with other developed nations. The quality of a country’s education is measured by the learning outcomes of the programmes offered to students in the form of education. These outcomes attest to the quality of the curriculum, the teachers, and the student’s performance, as well as to the teaching methods, the administration, the evaluation, and the linkages with other higher educational establishments. Although researchers are in consensus that the teaching faculty and students are the main stakeholders of the education system, it has been proven that the students are the best judges of an education system as they are the recipients whose lives are determined by the education that they have received. However, as it stands today, research has proven that there are numerous deficiencies in the legal education imparted in Pakistan. Given this, this paper gives a comprehensive overview of law students’ perceptions of the legal education system in Pakistan to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the system. This quantitative research conducted via survey identifies the flaws in the system and proposes constructive recommendations for the improvement of legal education in Pakistan to ensure that the country is on par with other developed nations in the world.

Considering a New Rule: When Best Practice is Law Student Practice

2023-08-07T17:36:41+00:00

The right to legal representation for indigent litigants is established in rules promulgated by the Pakistan Bar Council. Yet, state and non-governmental mechanisms are not necessarily available to implement these rights. The problem has been viewed largely as one of a limited pool of advocates, and the shortage is particularly serious for those accused of crimes and misdemeanours. The access to justice gap is not unique to Pakistan. This article aims to explain how law students can help alleviate the lack of legal aid—whether due to a shortage of affordable lawyers or an underfunded and/or poorly managed legal aid system. Consistent with best legal educational practices, university legal clinics under lawyer supervision and state-sponsored or bar association internship programs are the first steps in ushering in student access to the courtroom; thanks to practical training and allowing limited assistance to low-income clients. An even better step would be to introduce a formal student practice rule whereby students and interns are able to augment the corps of lawyers available to assist litigants who would not otherwise have representation in court. However, opposition by the bar association, judiciary and universities must be taken into account, as well as the means for overcoming this opposition. Beyond the immediate objective for the benefit of the most disadvantaged, Clinical Legal Education (CLE) introduces students to the idea of public service and instils in them an understanding of law, justice, and fairness.