ISLAMABAD:
Last week, the heads of judiciaries from nine member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) convened in Uzbekistan to deliberate on legal issues such as human trafficking, the protection of property rights, and the integration of new technologies in judicial processes.
Supreme Court Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa represented Pakistan at the 19th meeting of the forum, which took place in Tashkent from May 22 to 24, 2024. This marks only the second time that a chief justice from Pakistan has attended an SCO meeting, according to a press release.
The meeting saw the participation of judiciary heads from all SCO member countries: China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Due to the untimely passing of the Iranian president, Iran was represented by its deputy chief justice instead.
Belarus participated as an observer during the five thematic sessions, which covered international human trafficking, mediation in civil cases, protection of property rights, development of administrative justice, and the application of digitalization and new technologies in judicial processes.
On the sidelines of the meeting, Chief Justice Isa, along with Pakistan’s Ambassador to Uzbekistan Ahmed Farooq, met with Uzbekistan Chief Justice Bakhtiyar Islamov. During this meeting, Chief Justice Isa was presented with a gift by his counterpart.
According to the press release, the gift was a watch housed in a beautifully crafted piece depicting Uzbekistan’s ‘Monument of Independence’ with the Humo bird (Simurgh) on top. The gift has been submitted to the Toshakhana with a request for it to be permanently displayed in the Supreme Court Museum.
