On this occasion Wasi said that IFC was financing the 'alternative dispute resolution (ADR)/mediation project' to improve and institutionalise court-referred mediation.
"This would mitigate expensive and lengthy court procedures incurred by the private sector and would help extricate small and medium businesses from litigation and release assets caught up in legal disputes," he said.
He said that the government would review and amend civil and commercial laws pertaining to ADR mediation. "In the first instance, section 89-A of Criminal Procedure Code (Cr PC) would be amended to enhance the legislative framework for Mediation Centre in Karachi and later for setting up such centres all over the country.
Wasi said: "The IFC project supports and complements government's ongoing law reforms and puts an important focus on commercial disputes and on access to justice for small and medium businesses."
Michael Essex said that it would be an exciting challenge for IFC to institutionalise mediation processes and systems to increase efficiency and relieve courts from heavy backlogs.