CJ attends SCO judicial forum meeting

The heads of judiciaries from the nine member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) met in Uzbekistan last week for deliberations on legal issues ranging from human trafficking, to protection of property rights, and to the use of new technologies in the judicial processes.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa represented Pakistan at the 19th meeting of the forum held in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent from May 22 to 24 2024. It is the second time that a chief justice from Pakistan attended an SCO meeting, according to a press release issued here.

The heads of judiciary of all the member countries – China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, attended. Because of the untimely passing of the Iranian president, the chief justice of Iran could not attend, and his deputy represented the country.

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Belarus participated as an observer at the five thematic sessions: international human trafficking, mediation in civil cases, protection of property rights, development of administrative justice and application of digitalization and new technologies in judicial processes.

On the sidelines of the meeting, Chief Justice Isa and Pakistan’s Ambassador to Uzbekistan Ahmed Farooq also held a meeting with Uzbekistan Chief Justice Bakhtiyar Islamov. The chief justice was presented a gift by his counterpart.

The gift, according to the press release, was a watch in a beautifully crafted piece depicting Uzbekistan’s ‘Monument of Independence’ with the Humo bird [Simurgh] on top. The gift was submitted to the Toshakhana with a request to have it permanently displayed in the Supreme Court Museum.