The Research Society of International Law (RSIL) recently organized the inaugural launch for the RSIL Law Review (Volume 1, 2019) publication. The RSIL Law Review aspires to bring together high-quality legal essays and commentaries on a spectrum of topics pertinent to the legal climate in Pakistan as well as the broader international arena. The launch event allowed for authors to present their submissions to the publication, followed by an engaging panel discussion led by esteemed leaders within Pakistan’s legal fraternity.
The event commenced with opening remarks from Ms. Noor Waheed, the Managing Editor of RSIL Law Review, welcoming all guests and speakers participating in the event. This was followed by a detailed introduction from Mr. Jamal Aziz, Editor-in-Chief of the RSIL Law Review, and Mr. Oves Anwar, Director of Research at RSIL, who not only discussed the resounding success of RSIL’s current projects, but also briefed the audience on RSIL’s upcoming ventures.
As the event proceeded, brief presentations were conducted by the authors who had contributed their seminal pieces to the first edition of the RSIL Law Review. Ms. Hira Arif Riar, Senior Research Associate at RSIL, opened this part of the event by briefly introducing her essay, ‘Upholding the International Rule of Law’ to the audience. This was followed by Ms. Saleha Tauqeer’s (LLB Hons, London) presentation on Feminism and the nexus between practical and legal state of women in Pakistan. Ms. Minahil Khan (Senior Research Fellow, RSIL) then presented her analysis on the impact of Devolution on Legislative Reform in Pakistan, co-authored by Ms. Khan and Mr. Jamal Aziz. Following this, Mr. Awais Z. Abbasi (M.Phil, National Defence University), presented his work on the Failure of R2P in Syria, whereas Ms. Seemal Hameed (Junior Research Associate, RSIL) presented her article on ‘Military Courts as an affront to Human Rights’. The presentations section of the event finally concluded with a discussion on ‘Non-Refoulement and the Refugee Convention’, authored by Ms. Fatima Mehmood (LLM, Harvard) and presented by Ms. Ayesha Malik (Senior Research Associate, RSIL).
The event then advanced to the panel discussion, which brought together the brightest minds of Pakistan’s legal fraternity to contemplate upon an array of questions. Ms. Sarah Belal (Executive Director, Justice Project Pakistan), Mr. Ali Sultan (Vice President, RSIL) and Mr. Uzair Kiyani (Assistant Professor of Law, Lahore University of Management Sciences), provided an illuminating discussion on topics ranging from the most pressing challenges faced by the legal community and academia in Pakistan, to the topic of self-censorship and the criticality of opening up discourse through avenues such as the RSIL Law Review to explore under-researched fields and engage in knowledge-sharing to further build capacity.
The event concluded with a closing ceremony, after which shields were distributed to the esteemed panelists.
