Interim Measures in Arbitration Under the Pakistani Legal Regime

One of the reasons for the failure of arbitration in Pakistan is the inefficacious law on interim measures. A party can get these measures from court only after the commencement of requisite proceedings and after following a very lengthy procedure in an environment where the courts have tendency to go into the merits of dispute at this preliminary stage. The new proposed law on arbitration should not only remove these lacunae in the present law but should also modernize the arbitration law in Pakistan by giving the arbitrator power to issue an ex parte interim measures also enforceable against the non-parties. Since, the conferral of such powers to a private person, who is not appointed as a judge by state, is not new in Pakistan, it is suggested to incorporate in the new proposed law the amendments in the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law regarding the interim measures as were made in 2006 because that is also compatible to the Pakistani legal culture.