Pak-China apex courts to sign MoU at SCO judicial summit

ISLAMABAD: The supreme courts of Pakistan and China are set to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) during the 20th Conference of Chief Justices of the Supreme Courts of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states, taking place in Hangzhou, China, from April 22 to 26, 2025.

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Yahya Afridi will lead a delegation for participating in the conference, underscoring his commitment of inclusivity within the judicial system. He will be accompanied by Justice Aminuddin Khan, Justice Shahid Waheed, and two judges of the district judiciary including Zafar Jan, district and sessions judge Gwadar, the remotest district of Balochistan, and Nadia Gul Wazir, senior civil judge district Lakki Marwat, a remote district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

The proposed MoU aims to significantly enhance bilateral judicial cooperation by establishing institutional linkages, facilitating capacity-building initiatives, and promoting knowledge exchange in critical areas, including international commercial law, arbitration, cybercrime, financial crime, climate change litigation, and judicial technology integration.

Moreover, the MoU seeks to deepen collaboration in dispute resolution, recognition and enforcement of judicial decisions, and mutual legal assistance in civil matters, reaffirming the shared commitment of both nations towards judicial independence, sovereignty, and adherence to the rule of law.

During the event, Justice Shahid Waheed will deliver a keynote speech titled “Judicial Application of Artificial Intelligence”, highlighting AI’s transformative potential to enhance judicial efficiency, transparency, and accessibility.

Similarly, Justice Waheed will discuss Pakistan’s ongoing initiatives, including AI-driven legal drafting in collaboration with global institutions such as ETH Zurich, advanced AI-based legal research tools, digitization of court records, and predictive analytics for ensuring consistent judicial outcomes.

He will underscore the ethical framework necessary for AI integration, focusing on transparency, human oversight, bias mitigation, data protection, judicial training, accountability and establishing an AI Ethics Committee within Supreme Court of Pakistan to oversee the responsible and transparent application of AI technologies.

Additionally, on the sidelines of the SCO conference, CJP Yahya Afridi will hold bilateral discussions with the chief justice of Iran, exploring ways to deepen judicial exchanges and collaborative engagements.

This interaction underscores Pakistan’s dedication to strengthening international judicial cooperation.

Following the SCO conference, Chief Justice Afridi will proceed to Istanbul at the special invitation of Kadir Özkaya, president of the Constitutional Court of Türkiye, to attend the 63rd anniversary celebrations of the Turkish Constitutional Court from April 24 to 27, 2025.

This visit is expected to enhance judicial cooperation and deepen the ties between the judicial institutions of Pakistan and Türkiye.