Practice Areas
Pakistan upon gaining independence inherited an industrial relations system in the form of the Industrial Dispute Act, 1947. This legislation provided for, amongst other rights, the establishment of works committees to remove causes of friction between workers and employers in the day-to-day operations of enterprises. This law was repealed by virtue of West Pakistan Industrial Dispute Ordinance, 1958 which was replaced thereafter by the Industrial Disputes Ordinance 1959. In 1969, the Industrial Relations Ordinance 1969 was promulgated, repealing the earlier laws. Currently the Industrial Relations Act 2012 (the “IRA 2012”) is in force for ‘establishments’ in more than one province or in Islamabad, and the provincial Industrial Relations Acts apply to establishments restricted to one province.
Company law is the legislation under which the formation or incorporation, registration, governance and dissolution of an entity is administered and controlled, company is a legal entity formed by a group of individuals for the purpose of operating a business or undertaking, which has a legal and corporate personality separate from that of its members.
Company law has been reformed with the objective of facilitating corporatisation by way of promotion and development of corporate sector, encouraging the use of technology by electronic means in conducting business and regulation thereof. Regulation of companies for protecting interests of shareholders, creditors, stakeholders and general public, inculcating the principles of corporate governance, safeguarding minority interests in companies, providing an alternate mechanism for expeditious resolution of company disputes, and matters arising out of or connected therewith.
CJP Law Firm has a strong and broadly based international company law practice. We have a team of lawyers who specialise in companies incorporation and related work.
The Corporate Law team focuses on how to commercialize and promote corporate services and has significant experience in public relations and sponsorship.
Corporate Law Authority (CLA) was the regulatory body for the corporate sector in Pakistan. The restructuring plan began in 1997 as part of the Asian Development Bank’s capital market development. In December 1997, the Parliament of Pakistan promulgated the Pakistan Securities and Exchange Commission (SECP) Act of 1997. Effective January 1, 1999.
SECP as an apex regulator of corporate sector and capital market, actively pursuing its mandate for developing a progressive corporate sector, decided to replace the Ordinance with new corporate laws that meet the demand of the present complex corporate structuring.
Eventually, the journey to frame a new company law was commenced from December 2015 when the first draft on Companies Bill was issued for stakeholders comments, and it was promulgated on November 11, 2016 as Companies Ordinance, 2016 and eventually the Companies Act, 2017 was promulgated on May 30, 2017.
A company may be formed by charter, by special Act of Parliament or by registration under the Company Act. The liability of members is usually (but not always) limited by the charter, Act of Parliament or memorandum of association. A company may be a public limited company, in which event its shares may be transferred freely among, and owned by, members of the public.
All limited companies that are not public limited companies are privately held, referred to as (Pvt) Ltd. A company is owned by its members (i.e. shareholders) but managed by a board of directors. A company can be limited by stock, guarantee or unlimited company.
Generally, international trade law includes the rules and customs governing trade between countries. International trade lawyers may focus on applying domestic laws to international trade, and applying treaty-based international law governing trade.
Two main areas of international trade on the domestic side include trade remedy work and export controls/sanctions. Trade remedies are tools used by the government to take corrective action against imports that are causing material injury to a domestic industry because of unfair foreign pricing and/or foreign government subsidies.
We advise and represent a number of clients on contentious tax and customs related matters, before government authorities as well as the High Courts and Supreme Court of Pakistan. Our practice covers advice and representation in matters involving corporate taxation, sales tax, income tax, property tax, custom duties, coercive recovery by the Federal Board of Revenue and other local government taxes.
Our tax practice accommodates businesses of all sizes, as well as individuals who are seeking guidance and counseling pertaining to all aspects of provincial and federal taxation. Our advocates have helped numerous individuals and business entities to manage their taxation figures, as we know taxes dictate vital business decisions, including where to locate, how to structure, who to hire, etc. Our services include tax planning considerations in structuring corporate mergers, acquisitions and leveraged buy-outs, partnership issues, tax issues in commercial loans, leases and work-outs, real estate tax issues, tax matters of concern to international clients with business operations in Pakistan or the overseas, and tax litigation, etc.
Intellectual Property refers to creations of the intellect for which a monopoly is assigned to designated owners by law. Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) are the protections granted to the creators of IP, and include Trademarks, Copyrights, Patents, Industrial Design Rights, and in some jurisdictions, trade secrets. It is important to note that even artistic works including music and literature, as well as inventions, words, phrases, symbols, and designs can all be protected as intellectual property.
There is nothing more deflating than to see someone claiming your intellectual property/invention/discovery as theirs. Also, the risk of online theft and data breach has increased tenfold since the dawn of the digital paradigm.
In accordance with the foregoing, our attorneys provide a wide range of legal services for the identification, development, acquisition and protection of intellectual property and related technology. Our attorneys have represented various companies and individuals in intellectual property rights and infringement cases and have successfully obtained favorable judgments from respected courts on behalf of our clients.
Here you may find information on banking law in Pakistan. Our dedicated team of professional lawyers may best assists their clients in resolving banking law issues in Pakistan.
We deal in establishment, incorporation and share capital in Banking Companies, Cooperative Banks and Financial Institutions, Transactions of Banking Business, Suspension of Business and Winding up of Banking Business, Recovery of Loans, Mortgage Matters, Landlord & Tenant, Debtor & Creditor, Contracts, Bankruptcy, Bank Secrecy Matters and Negotiable Instruments etc.
We also deal with the matters relating to borrowing, raising or taking up of money, the lending or advancing of money either upon or without security, all kinds regarding bills of exchange, hundis, promissory notes, coupons, drafts, bills of lading, railway receipts, warrants, debentures, certificates including participation term certificates, modaraba certificates and musharika certificates etc and dealing in bullion and species, buying and selling of foreign exchange including foreign bank notes, the acquiring, holding, issuing on commission, underwriting and dealing in stock, funds, shares, debentures, bonds, obligations and securities, all kinds of investments, the receiving of all kinds of bonds, scripts or valuable on deposits.
We provide legal advice and representation to domestic and foreign clients in all matters related to employment and labor law, as well as complex personnel management legal matters.
Our services include hiring, firing, regulatory and dispute resolution advice. We continue to represent companies, employees and officials before the Labor Tribunal, Service Tribunal, High Court and Supreme Court of Pakistan.
We also advise companies of all sizes.
From start-ups to international Fortune 500 companies, we cover many aspects of employee benefit programs, including EOBI and Contributions.
The experience of our lawyers in contentious commercial and civil litigation spans over a number of years. Not only do we regularly represent multinationals and local corporations before the Supreme Court, High Courts of Pakistan and the subordinate District Courts, but also counsel Government functionaries on complex constitutional matters.
The spectrum of our litigation practice ranges from property law disputes, real estate and construction matters, constitutional petitions, white-collar crime, contractual disputes, intellectual property matters, employment disputes, taxation and customs duty assessments and liabilities, domestic and family disputes, shipping and admiralty, telecommunications, as well as media.
We provide services in different forums of law, Corporate, Taxation, Intellectual Property Rights, (Copyright, Trade Mark & Patent), Services matters, Constitutional matters (Writ Petitions, Public Interest Litigation’s) Family matters, Immigration & Citizenship Rights, Special Courts and Tribunals, Naib, FIA, FBR matters.
Here you may find information as to criminal law in Pakistan. Our dedicated team of professional lawyers best assists their clients as to criminal litigation in Pakistan
Criminal Law is an extreme field of practice coverning all those aspects that entail crime as its factor. Every act or omission that violates a command, derives its force from legislature or from authority – either political or religious – that has absolute sway over the matters of state is considered to be a crime. This is the reason that state stands as a prosecutor against the alleged culprit. The main intention of criminal law is to maintain the sway of state in all matters involving acts or omissions: no act or omission that challenges the sway of the state can be allowed by the criminal law of the state.
Pakistan has a rather outdated but very detailed criminal code that generally covers all aspects of what constitutes a crime. In order to understand Pakistan’s penal code, it is also necessary to understand the country’s socio-cultural phenomena. Most of Pakistan’s criminal laws were introduced by the British Empire when India was a colony and Pakistan was a part of it. Nevertheless, efforts were made to understand the social situation, and criminal law was also attempted to conform to the cultural conditions of the colony. This is why India and Pakistan voluntarily adopted it after liberation from the British Empire.
The Code of Criminal Procedure (No. 5 of 1898), which applied to the colonies, is still the statutory code of criminal procedure followed by most Pakistani courts. Likewise, the penal code introduced in the colony (XLV 1860) is still largely enforced in the form of the Pakistan Criminal Code.
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is the procedure for settling disputes without litigation, such as arbitration, mediation, or negotiation. ADR procedures are usually less costly and more expeditious. They are increasingly being utilized in disputes that would otherwise result in litigation, including high-profile labor disputes, divorce actions, and personal injury claims.
One of the primary reasons parties may prefer ADR proceedings is that, unlike adversarial litigation, ADR procedures are often collaborative and allow the parties to understand each other’s positions. ADR also allows the parties to come up with more creative solutions that a court may not be legally allowed to impose.
Telecommunication company is a company that makes communication possible on a global scale, whether it is through the phone or the Internet, through airwaves or cables, through wires or wirelessly, these companies created the infrastructure that allows data in words, voice, audio, or video to be sent anywhere in the world.
The largest companies in the telecommunication sector are telephone (both wired and wireless) operators, satellite companies, cable companies, and Internet service providers. For the incorporation and registration of a telecommunication company in Pakistan, three agencies are engaged for this purpose, namely:
Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP)
Federal Board of Revenue (FBR)
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA)
According to Section 2(h) of the Protection against Harassment of women at Workplace Act, 2010 harassment” means any unwelcome sexual advance, request for sexual favours or other verbal or written communication or physical conduct of a sexual nature or sexually demeaning attitudes, causing interference with work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment, or the attempt to punish the complainant for refusal to comply with such a request or is made a condition for employment.
According to the Section 3 of the Protection against Harassment of women at Workplace Act, 2010, every organization has to constitute an Inquiry Committee to inquire into complaints made against workplace harassment. And committee shall consist of three members of whom at least one member should be a woman.
If a person is guilty of workplace harassment, the following penalty under section 4 of the protection against harassment of women at workplace act, 2010 can be imposed on him:
A) Minor Penalties
Censure withholding for a specific period, promotion or increment
Stoppage for a specific period
Recovery of the compensation payable to the complainant from pay or any other source of the accused.
B) Major Penalties
Reduction to lower post or time-scale or to a lower stage in a time-scale.
Involuntary Retirement
Dismissal
Dismissal and Fines
Under section 8 of the Protection of Women from Harassment in the Workplace Act of 2010, women may lodge a complaint directly with the Ombudsman or the Investigative Committee.
The Anti-Corruption Act of 1947 was enacted to take effective measures to combat bribery and corruption in Pakistan. It applies throughout Pakistan and applies to all Pakistani citizens and officials. “Public Official” in this Act means a public official as defined in Article 21 of the Pakistan Penal Code. The Act was amended in accordance with the 2017 Anti-Corruption (Amendment) Act.
CJP Law Firm understand the technical aspects of environmental law including toxicology, epidemiology, hydrogeology, biology and engineering. Many lawyers have a formal technical background in environmental science. We also consult with environmental analysts internally and externally. We also use the multidisciplinary resource of attorneys in the firm’s extended legal team. We have played a key role in some of the most complex and impactful cases of recent times.
The law firm, in competition with other firms, is a leader in the provision of civil law services to citizens, companies, local authorities and government bodies. Services in this field are provided, in particular, in civil, labour and family law relationships. Thanks to their long experience in this field, some attorneys lecture and publish on it. The law firm provides its clients with both advice and comprehensive solutions. It drafts legal documents, contracts dealing with legal relations between clients and agreements settling disputed issues, always attempting to find the best solution for the client which gives him the greatest legal certainty.
For this reason, law firms represent real estate brokers and provide legal services on contracts governing the transfer of property and relationships between property owners. Because these relationships are so extensive, the skills of law firm staff are constantly improving.
Human Rights issues are currently the fundamental concerns of International Community and no state can afford to ignore Human Rights abuses within its jurisdiction. Our human rights law experts in Pakistan best assist anyone around the globe on account of enforcement of human rights.
The Fundamental Rights, as embodied in our Constitution, are the bed-rock of Pakistan democracy, and the rights to constitutional writs, contained in Articles 185 and 199 of the Constitution, is one of the formidable instruments in the hands of the Pakistan Citizens to assert their rights.
During the last 60 years, Pakistani Courts, and particularly the Supreme Court, have in many cases interpreted the Constitutional provisions relating to the Fundamental rights. In several of them, they have defined the nature and scope in the changing contents of our political, social and economic life.
Growing democracies require careful study of these provisions, as well as the scope and trends in judicial decisions.
