Formal Economic Dispute Resolution Expert

Background

The Revenue Mobilisation, Investment and Trade (REMIT) programme (2021–2027), funded by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and implemented by Adam Smith International (ASI), provides technical assistance to the Government of Pakistan to strengthen macroeconomic stability, enhance governance systems, and improve conditions for sustainable economic growth.

A central component of this support is the implementation of the Prime Minister’s Economic Governance Reforms (PM-EGR), a comprehensive, time-bound reform programme approved on 31 December 2025. The PM-EGR spans 15 priority reform areas and 141 action items and is recognised as a Structural Benchmark under the IMF Extended Fund Facility (EFF).

A critical reform area under PM-EGR is Reform Action 5: Enhancing Predictability and Efficiency in Legal Enforcement of Economic Rights, which focuses on improving the effectiveness of economic dispute resolution systems, including courts, tribunals, and alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms. These reforms aim to reduce case backlogs, improve case disposal timelines, strengthen enforcement mechanisms, and enhance investor confidence.

To support implementation, a Technical Unit (TU) has been established within the Ministry of Finance to serve as the central coordination, analytical, and reporting hub, alongside a structured Policy Dialogue mechanism (Economic Reform Conferences) to review progress and support reform course correction.

Activity Context

Pakistan’s formal economic dispute resolution system, encompassing specialised economic courts, commercial tribunals, and quasi-judicial regulatory bodies, plays a central role in enforcing economic rights, resolving commercial disputes, and underpinning investor confidence. However, the system faces severe structural challenges that undermine its effectiveness and predictability:

• Significant and growing case backlogs across courts and economic tribunals

• Slow case disposal timelines that create uncertainty for businesses and investors

• Fragmentation of jurisdiction across multiple judicial and quasi-judicial bodies, leading to overlapping mandates and procedural inconsistencies

• Weak enforcement mechanisms for judicial and tribunal decisions, reducing the practical value of favourable outcomes

• Limited performance monitoring, with little reliable data on clearance rates, disposal timelines, or enforcement rates

• Capacity constraints within the judiciary and tribunal system, including limited specialisation in complex economic and commercial matters

Under PM-EGR Reform Action 5, core priorities for the formal dispute resolution system include:

• Developing and implementing methodologies for backlog reduction and case prioritisation across economic courts and tribunals

• Establishing robust performance monitoring frameworks covering clearance rates, disposal timelines, and enforcement outcomes

• Strengthening the institutional capacity of economic tribunals and specialised courts

• Improving enforcement mechanisms for judicial and quasi-judicial decisions

• Streamlining jurisdictional arrangements to reduce fragmentation and procedural complexity

The Formal Economic Dispute Resolution Expert will provide dedicated technical expertise to support reform of Pakistan’s formal dispute resolution institutions under Reform Action 5.

Job Summary

The Formal Economic Dispute Resolution Expert will provide senior technical advisory support on the reform and strengthening of Pakistan’s formal economic dispute resolution system under PM-EGR. The role will focus on backlog reduction, performance monitoring, institutional strengthening of courts and tribunals, enforcement reform, and jurisdictional rationalisation, ensuring that the formal system becomes more efficient, predictable, and effective in resolving economic disputes.

Duties and Responsibilities

The roles and responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Backlog Reduction and Case Management Reform

• Develop methodologies for analysing case backlogs, identifying categories of economic disputes most amenable to accelerated disposal, and designing prioritisation frameworks.

• Advise on case management reforms, including procedural simplification, triage mechanisms, and differentiated case tracks for different types of economic disputes.

• Assess and advise on the use of technology-enabled case management systems to improve court and tribunal efficiency.

• Provide technical inputs on resource allocation and scheduling reforms to improve throughput across economic courts and tribunals.

Performance Monitoring and Data Systems

• Advise on the design and implementation of performance monitoring frameworks for economic courts and tribunals, covering clearance rates, disposal timelines, and enforcement outcomes.

• Develop outcome-oriented KPIs for the formal dispute resolution system under Reform Action 5.

• Support development of reliable data collection and reporting systems to track court and tribunal performance over time.

• Prepare analytical assessments of formal dispute resolution system performance, drawing on available data and international benchmarks.

Institutional Strengthening and Enforcement Reform

• Advise on institutional strengthening of economic tribunals and specialised courts, including governance, capacity, and procedural frameworks.

• Provide technical inputs on reforms to improve enforcement of judicial and tribunal decisions, including identification of systemic enforcement bottlenecks and international best practices.

• Advise on jurisdictional rationalisation to reduce fragmentation and overlap across courts, tribunals, and quasi-judicial regulatory bodies.

• Support reform of appointment, tenure, and capacity development frameworks for judges and tribunal members handling economic disputes.

International Benchmarking and Reform Design

• Benchmark Pakistan’s formal economic dispute resolution system against international best practices and comparable jurisdictions.

• Identify reform models from comparable economies applicable to Pakistan’s judicial and institutional context.

• Advise on alignment of reforms with international standards for commercial justice, including UNCITRAL Legislative Guide provisions relevant to formal proceedings.

Policy Dialogue and Reporting

• Prepare technical notes, analytical briefs, and policy inputs for Technical Committees and Economic Reform Conferences.

• Contribute to Economic Reform Conferences through expert participation, including technical presentations and panel discussions on formal dispute resolution reform.

• Engage with key stakeholders including the judiciary, Ministry of Law & Justice, economic tribunals, regulatory bodies, and the legal profession.

• Support reform course correction by translating policy dialogue outcomes and implementation findings into actionable recommendations for the formal dispute resolution system.

Reporting

The consultant will report to:

• REMIT Macroeconomic Adviser

• Governance & Reforms Specialist (Technical Unit Team Lead)

• Advanced degree in law, public policy, governance, or a related field; specialisation in commercial law, judicial reform, or dispute resolution is strongly preferred.

• Minimum 10 years of relevant experience in judicial reform, commercial court or tribunal reform, or formal dispute resolution system strengthening.

• Demonstrated expertise in at least two of: court and tribunal performance management, backlog reduction and case management reform, enforcement of judicial decisions, jurisdictional rationalisation, or judicial capacity development.

• Strong understanding of Pakistan’s judicial and tribunal systems, including the structure of economic courts and quasi-judicial regulatory bodies, is strongly preferred.

• Familiarity with international best practices in commercial justice and formal economic dispute resolution.

• Experience in high-level technical advisory roles, including engagement with government institutions, the judiciary, and development partners.

• Strong analytical, advisory, and written communication skills.

Deadline for applications if 9th June 2026.