Lahore University of Management Sciences

Department of Law and Policy

Programme Development and Extra Curricular

	Academic and Guest Lectures Student Activities Initiatives in Executive Development Conferences, Seminars, Workshops, Projects

Academic Lecture Series

Mr. Ahmer Bilal Soofi – an LL.M from University of Cambridge and Senior Partner at a law firm in Lahore, Ahmer Bilal Soofi & Co. – was invited by Professor Joseph Wilson to present a Guest Lecture as part of the Public International Law course. Mr. Soofi is widely published and has taught at the Punjab University, the Pakistan Administrative Staff College, and the Pakistan Civil Services Training Academy. Presently, Mr. Soofi is also the President of the Research Society of International Law, Pakistan.

Comparative Constitutional Law – Dr. Imtiaz Omar

Dr. Imtiaz Omar – Senior Lecturer at the School of Law, University of New England, Australia – delivered 2 lectures as part of the Guest Lecture Series on Comparative Constitutional Law in the Autumn Quarter, 2006, namely, (i) “Constitutional Evolution in South Asia”, and (ii) “Reflections on Judicial Review and the ‘Political Question’ Doctrine”. With an LL.M from Saskatchewan University and a Ph.D from the Australian National University, Dr. Omar’s academic and research background is heavily weighted towards Comparative Constitutional Law, and especially that of Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh, in which area he has also published two books, one of which was quoted by the Supreme Court of Pakistan (Farook Ahmad Khan Leghari v Federation of Pakistan, 1999 PLD S.C. 57). Dr. Omar’s principal research interests are Constitutional Law of Australia, Comparative Constitutional Law and Theory, Comparative Human Rights, Globalisation and Constitutions, Jurisprudence, and Administrative Law.

The Law Department launched its Guest Lecture Series in the Summer Quarter 2006 with “Laws of War and the War(s) on Terror” – a 5-lecture series canvassing International Humanitarian Law (“IHL”) and the “Global War on Terror”. The aim of the Series was twofold: to provide a basic introduction to International Humanitarian Law (“IHL”) and to explore some of the recurring and seemingly intractable problems that arise in the contemporary theory and practice of IHL. The presenter, Darryl Li, is a visiting lecturer at the Law Department. He holds an MPhil in International Studies (Cambridge) and a BA in Social Studies (Harvard). He is concurrently a doctoral candidate in Anthropology & Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University and a JD student at Yale Law School. His professional experience in human rights and humanitarian law includes work with Human Rights Watch (New York), the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (Gaza), and the South Asia Human Rights Documentation Centre (New Delhi). He has conducted academic research in Rwanda, Yemen and, lately, Pakistan.

Distinguished Lecturer Series

The regular curriculum at the Department of Law & Policy at LUMS (the “Law Department”) is augmented by a host of events that enrich legal education and scholarship. One of these is the Distinguished Lecturer Series (the “Series”) which was launched by the Law Department in the Autumn Quarter, 2006. The Law Department endeavors to organize two to four lectures on average every quarter as part of this Series.

The Series is intended to perpetuate debate on compelling contemporary issues in the related areas of law, policy and justice by providing a forum to Pakistan’s preeminent legal and socio-legal scholars, including lawyers, judges, public figures, government officials, civil society leaders, policy makers and regulators, business professionals and other prominent individuals, to address and engage the law and policy students at LUMS. Lectures on topics of general relevance and interest shall also be open to the general faculty and student body at LUMS. The main objectives for the Series are to provide the law and policy students with insight into the justice system, to inspire them in their study of law and policy, and to develop meaningful linkages with the market.

The themes for the Series shall revolve around law, policy and justice. The lecturers shall be chosen on the basis of their contribution to these areas in at least one of the following three ways:

1. extensive knowledge of and experience in the relevant field
2. quality or novel work in a cutting-edge area, regardless of experience or seniority; and/or
3. source of inspiration in the justice sector.

The Law Department will endeavor to maintain diversity in terms of the specific topics presented by the lecturers and will not be barred from inviting the same lecturer more than once on a different or related topic.

The Distinguished Lecturer Series was launched in the autumn quarter 2006-2007 with a lecture by Mr. Abid Hasan Minto on the “Amendments to the Pakistani Constitution: the Law & the Politics”. Mr. Abid Minto, Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, is a big name in the Pakistani legal community, not least because of his vast contribution to the field of Constitutional Law. He is one of the founding members of the PBC to which he was elected when this statutory body was formed in 1966. He remained a member of the PBC till 1983. During the period he was elected as the President of the Lahore High Court Bar in 1982. He was also the President of the Supreme Court Bar Association for the 1997-99 tenure, and was given the title of “Senior Advocate, Supreme Court” – the highest ranking formal distinction awarded to advocates in Pakistan by the Supreme Court of Pakistan for their exceptional contributions in the field of law.

An eminent jurist, constitutional expert, professor, author, literary critic, public intellectual and political leader, Mr. Minto has been a major force against military rule, economic exploitation, and oppressive social practices in Pakistan. During the Zia period, Mr. Minto was elected to chair the All-Pakistan Lawyers’ Association against imposition of Martial Law. Imprisoned by General Zia, he was adopted as a prisoner of conscience by the Amnesty International. In 1990, when Mr. Nelson Mandela was elected President International Lawyers’ Association, Mr. Abid Minto was elected as Vice President of the same organization. They worked as a team from 1990 to 1995.

Declining many offers of judgeship in the higher courts and ministries in various governments, Mr. Minto has spent 50 years leading nationwide movements for poverty alleviation, rule of law, due process and equal justice in Pakistan. His principled stand and struggle against militarism, feudalism, nepotism and malfeasance has been internationally applauded. He has spent his life struggling for human rights, women’s rights, minority rights and rights of the working classes in Pakistan. Mr. Minto has worked extensively with and represented labor unions in Pakistan for many years, and is currently heading the National Workers Party which was formed in May 1999.

The leading jurist of the country is also a writer in his own right. He has been associated with the Progressive Writers Movement since the beginning, and was the moving spirit behind the establishment of the Halqa-i-Arbab-i-Zauq which was the first literary movement of Lahore after Partition. Literary criticism is Minto’s main field and he studied fiction and poetry with the eye of a critic. His favourite writers are Ranjinder Singh Bedi, Balwant Singh and Saadat Hasan Manto. He has a book on literary criticism, “Nuqta-i-Nazar”, to his credit.