Centre of Excellence in Criminal Justice launched

Islamabad : The School of International Law announced the launch of the Centre of Excellence in Criminal Justice in collaboration with the CODE Pakistan.

SIL principal Nida Tareen said the SIL and CODE Pakistan jointly aimed at promoting the culture of research to better equip criminal justice actors in the country by providing them with the requisite legal acumen.

"Our first initiative through the centre is a four day Criminal Justice Training Programme, which their students and alumni are undertaking to be trained in criminal law processes in Pakistan," she said.

The SIL principal said since its inception, the school's goal had been to inculcate the requisite legal knowledge that the students require to become professional lawyers, and responsible citizens.

"It is our responsibility to provide the next generation of lawyers with the opportunities to be responsible citizens. In pursuance of this goal that we hold dear to us, we have collaborated with CODE Pakistan to introduce the Centre of Excellence in Criminal Justice System. We hope that through this centre we can play our part in overcoming the shortcomings in the Pakistani Criminal legal system,” she said.

She said the SIL hoped to continue to provide law students, young lawyers and the legal fraternity at large with new opportunities in the legal field.

Director of CODE Pakistan Dilawar Khan explained the need for a law school to play a significant role in the legal fraternity.

"The dissemination of the procedures and mechanisms that exist in Pakistan is the first step towards betterment, and in light of that goal the Centre of Excellence has been established with a law school of such high repute," he said.

Noted lawyers Oves Anwar, Humaira Masihuddin, Faiza Farooq and Shandana Gulzar Khan were also in attendance.

MNA Shandaza Gulzar said she was hopeful that the the SIL Centre of Excellence in Criminal Justice System would be an excellent resource for the members of the new parliament wanting to create change.

"I want the Centre to provide us, lawmakers, with both the platform and tools to lay the seeds of that change,” she said.