Pakistan can become international arbitration hub through sustained reforms: Speakers

ISLAMABAD, Sep 11 (APP):Pakistan has the potential to emerge as an international centre for dispute resolution, but achieving this objective would require sustained legal, institutional and capacity-building reforms over the next decade, speakers at a seminar said on Friday.

The seminar titled “Can Pakistan Become a Seat of International Dispute Resolution?” was organized by the Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI) in Islamabad and brought together senior jurists, advocates and arbitration specialists to examine Pakistan’s prospects of becoming a venue for international arbitration and mediation, said a press release.

Opening the discussion, IPRI President noted that as Pakistan trades more and attracts investment through projects such as CPEC, most of its commercial disputes are still heard abroad in London, Singapore, or Dubai, making the country a consumer rather than a provider of arbitration services, at real cost in money, time, and confidence. He observed that each international arbitration typically costs parties no less than two to three million pounds or dollars, and pointed to Pakistan’s recent emergence as an international mediator, including hosting US and Iran talks in Islamabad, as evidence of credibility that could be extended to commercial dispute resolution.

The speakers noted that Pakistan already had some of the basic foundations required for becoming an arbitration seat. Pakistan is a party to the New York Convention, meaning awards made domestically can be enforced across the world, and its courts have developed a clear pro enforcement bias toward foreign arbitral awards.

The panel noted the striking growth in relevant case law: whereas the arbitration framework, still resting on the 1940 Act, produced only 56 reported judgments two years ago, arbitration judgments are now emerging at a rate of around 120, with roughly 60 delivered in the last two years alone.

It was also noted that Pakistan is one of only seven countries in the world with a mandatory mediation regime, and that mediation has already saved substantial public money, including over one trillion rupees in settlements with independent power producers and a recent $6.6 billion refinery upgrade deal.

A note of caution came through comparative data. Panelists pointed out that arbitration centers established in Kenya (2013), Rwanda (2008), and Egypt (1978) have seen their caseloads remain almost entirely domestic; in Egypt, even after decades, only around 10 percent of arbitrator appointments were non Egyptian. A 2025 survey of African practitioners found that around 60 percent still chose London as their preferred seat and 18 percent chose Singapore, with none selecting an African seat; in the same survey, over 56 percent cited a strong enforcement record and 54 percent cited neutrality and impartiality as what makes a seat attractive. The lesson drawn was that credibility must be earned over time.

Discussion also highlighted Pakistan’s rapidly expanding pool of arbitrators, from six to eight just two years ago to nearing 100 fellows of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators today, against Singapore’s roughly 150, the UAE’s 39, and India’s 42. Three laws are now in the pipeline: legislation to implement the Singapore Convention, a new arbitration bill based on the UNCITRAL model law, and commercial court legislation.

The seminar concluded that Pakistan could become a seat of international dispute resolution, supported by its comparatively lower costs and recent geopolitical goodwill, but achieving this objective would require coordinated  effort over roughly a decade.