ISLAMABAD – Former top judge of Pakistan Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa has been picked for the Administration of Justice Excellence Award, 2022 by the International Institute for Justice Excellence (IIJE).
Reports in local media said that Khosa, who served for almost 11 months as the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP), was picked for his superlative work in ‘improving access to justice’ in the South Asian country while a formal ceremony to present the award will be held in the Netherlands in coming weeks.
A statement issued by the international institution in this regard cited “This is done on account of Justice Asif’s outstanding achievements and exemplary accomplishments in enhancing the administration of justice and contributions made towards independence of the judiciary, human rights ethics, access to justice, judicial education, management, court administration, legal reform, consensus building, and cooperation”.
Justice Asif was commended for his 22-year career, during which he established various initiatives which served to improve access to justice in Pakistan.
The noted jurist established various initiatives including the inauguration of the Video-link Conferencing Platform and Information e-kiosk Centre. The initiative allowed legal representatives to argue their cases from their own stations, rather than traveling from far-flung areas.
Khosa, now 67, was among the judges who disqualified former PM Nawaz Sharif for life after corruption allegations in 2017.
Known as the poetic judge for his works of literature in his judgments, Justice Khosa decided about 57,000 cases in his two-decade-long career, and thousands of criminal appeals pending before the Supreme Court of Pakistan were cleared as he took action on prolonged delays in the dispensation of justice.
Justice Khosa holds a notable academic record as he studied at Cambridge and was called to the Bar at the Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn. The former SC judge also taught law in law schools and has authored four books.
